Gloria Frances Stuart (born Gloria Stewart; July 4, 1910 Santa Monica, California, USA – September 26, 2010 Los Angeles, California, USA) was an American actress, visual artist, and activist. She was initially known for her roles as a contract player in the 1930s and 1940s, though she would garner widespread fame later in life for her critically acclaimed role in James Cameron's Titanic (1997). Her accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award, one Academy Award nomination, and one Golden Globe nomination.
A native of Santa Monica, California, Stuart began acting while in high school. After attending the University of California, Berkeley, she embarked on a career in theater, performing in local productions and summer stock in Los Angeles and New York City. She signed a film contract with Universal Pictures in 1932, and acted in numerous films for the studio, including the horror films The Old Dark House (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933), and the musical comedy The Three Musketeers (1939).
In 1945, after a tenure as a contract player for Twentieth Century Fox, Stuart abandoned her acting career and shifted to a career as an artist, working as a fine printer and making paintings, serigraphy, miniature books, Bonsai, and découpage for the next three decades.
She returned to acting in the late 1970s, appearing in several bit parts, including in Richard Benjamin's My Favorite Year (1982) and Wildcats (1986).
Stuart made a prominent return to cinema when she was cast as the 101-year-old elder Rose Dawson Calvert in Titanic (1997), earning her numerous accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. As of 2019, she remains the oldest nominee for the category. Her final film performance was a minor part in Wim Wenders' Land of Plenty (2004).
In addition to her acting and art career, Stuart was also an environmental and political activist, who served as a co-founding member of the Screen Actors Guild and the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League.
She died of respiratory failure in September 2010, aged 100.
