Mary Rivera, who brought a brief but beloved moment of warmth to Spider-Man: No Way Home as Ned Leeds’ grandmother, has died at 82.
According to TMZ, Rivera died on April 15 in Honolulu after suffering a stroke, she had entered a coma, and when doctors told her family that her prognosis wouldn’t improve even if she woke, they made the difficult decision to remove her from life support.
The news of her passing only became public this week, following the record-breaking opening of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Rivera’s only credited acting role came about almost by chance.
Her daughter, Angie Kelly, later explained to Hawaiʻi Public Radio that she stumbled across a Facebook casting call seeking a local Hawaiʻi Filipina grandmother between the ages of 50 and 90, and immediately thought of her mother.
Rivera went on to land the role of Ned’s Lola in the 2021 blockbuster, appearing in one of the film’s most memorable scenes, speaking in Tagalog while Ned translates, she scolds the multiversal Spider-Men, played by Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, and asks Garfield’s Peter Parker to clear cobwebs from her ceiling as Zendaya’s MJ looks on.
Ned later credits his grandmother’s wisdom with helping him realize his family’s “magic,” a moment that allows him to use Doctor Strange’s Sling Ring during the film’s climax.
According to her obituary, Rivera took on the role after retiring from work as a missionary, and was deeply proud of the accomplishment.
She later told Hawaii’s KHON2, “It was a rare privilege for me, a simple Filipina, to be featured in a Hollywood movie. I wanted to bring some pride to my homeland of the Philippines because I thought, wow, this is Disney. This is Marvel. So, yes, I will audition for it.”
She is survived by her husband, her children, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
