Los Angeles, California - Patrick Stewart, the British Shakespearean actor who became a Hollywood megastar through roles in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, has died at the age of 86, an official statement said Thursday.
"We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia," the statement said.
"He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all."
The actor, who hailed from the northern English region of Yorkshire, trod the boards in Britain with the Royal Shakespeare Company before crossing the Atlantic to enjoy an acclaimed career on the stage and screen in the US.
His best-known Hollywood roles were as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in multiple X-Men and related Marvel films.
"His sonorous voice and singular talent will forever be synonymous with indelible performances in every genre," the statement said.
"He explored the human condition in all its poetic complexity and brought hope not only to the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but into science fiction's most iconic final frontier aboard the Starship Enterprise."
A post on his X page announcing his death asks that "in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:
Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund."