Mary Egida Rivera, who appeared in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home as the Filipino grandmother of Jacob Batalon’s character Ned Leeds, passed away earlier this year at the age of 82.
As reported by TMZ, a relative of Rivera confirmed that she suffered from a stroke earlier this year, falling into a coma. The family was told by a doctor that if she managed to come out of a coma, her condition would be extremely serious and she might not make it. They eventually decided to remove her from life support on April 15 in Honolulu, and she was later cremated.
The actress made a memorable appearance in the 2021 movie Spider-Man: No Way Home, which brought Tom Holland’s incarnation of the titular character together with Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, who previously portrayed the character in previous Spider-Man movies. Rivera portrayed the grandmother of Peter Parker’s best friend Ned Leeds, who was played by Jacob Batalon. Her family said they encouraged her to audition for the role in the movie.
Born on June 2, 1943, in Iloilo, the Philippines, Rivera was “very proud” to play the role of Ned’s grandmother in the mega-blockbuster, which went on to gross over $1.9 billion at the worldwide box office. In her appearance in the movie, she spoke in Tagalog as her onscreen grandson translated for her to tell Garfield’s Spidey to clean the cobwebs off of the ceiling. She also loudly voiced her exasperation with the situation by simply announcing in English, “I’m going to bed.”
Rivera is survived by four great-grandchildren, 11 grandchildren, her five children, and her husband, Alejandro.
RIP.
