Celebrity News March 29, 2026
Mary Beth Hurt, Actress Remembered for 'Interiors' & 'Garp,' Dies at 79
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Mary Beth Hurt, a prolific actor with stage and screen credits, has died at 79 following an 11-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.
THR confirmed her death in a New Jersey memory-care facility with her husband, writer-director Paul Schrader, with whom she had collaborated.
In her long career, she acted in 15 Broadway plays across nearly 40 years, receiving Tony nominations three times, including for originating the role of Meg in "Crimes of the Heart" (1981).
Hurt, born September 26, 1946, in Marshalltown, Iowa, was babysat by a future superstar — tragic Jean Seberg.
She made her TV debut in the movie "Ann in Blue" (1974) and made an auspicious film debut in Woody Allen's 1978 drama "Interiors."
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View StoryShe gave a remarkable performance opposite John Heard in the cult classic "Chilly Scenes of Winter" (1979) and arguably her greatest performance in "The World According to Garp" (1982), starring a young Robin Williams.
Other movie work: "D.A.R.Y.L." (1985), "Compromising Positions" (1985), "Parents" (1989), "Slaves of New York" (1989), Martin Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence" (1993), "Six Degrees of Separation" (1993), "Lady in the Water" (2006), "The Dead Girl" (2006), and "Change in the Air" (2018).
She worked with Schrader on "Light Sleeper" (1992), "Affliction" (1997), "The Walker" (2007), and "Adam Resurrected" (2008).
Hurt's TV work was less expansive, but she was a regular on "Tattinger's" (1988-1989) and guested on "Law & Order: SVU" in 2002.
Married to Oscar winner William Hurt from 1971-1982, she was wed to Schrader since 1983. She is survived by her husband and their two children.