Mary Beth Hurt, acclaimed actress of The Age of Innocence, Six Degrees of Separation, and The World According to Garp, has died at 79 after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Her daughter, Molly Schrader, shared on Instagram:
“Yesterday morning we lost my mom, Mary Beth, to Alzheimer’s. She was an actress, a wife, a mother, a sister, an aunt, and a friend — all with grace and kind ferocity. Though we grieve, there’s comfort knowing she is no longer suffering and is reunited with her sisters in peace.”
Born in Marshalltown, Iowa, on September 25, 1946, Hurt studied acting at the University of Iowa and NYU. She made her stage debut in 1974 off-Broadway and earned three Tony nominations over the next decade.
Hurt’s film debut in Woody Allen’s Interiors (1978) earned a BAFTA nomination. She went on to appear in Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979), The World According to Garp (1982), The Age of Innocence (1993), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), and later films including Autumn in New York (2000) and Young Adult (2011). On TV, she appeared on Law & Order, Thirtysomething, and Saturday Night Live.
She was married to actor William Hurt (1971–1982) and filmmaker Paul Schrader (1983–2023), with whom she had two children, Molly and Sam. Hurt spent her final days in a Jersey City, New Jersey assisted living facility.
Known for bringing intelligence, depth, and quiet ferocity to every role, Mary Beth Hurt leaves a legacy of remarkable performances and profound humanity. RIP.