Mary Rivera, known for "Spider-Man: No Way Home," passes away at 82
Mary Rivera, remembered for her role as Ned Leeds' grandmother in the 2021 film "Spider-Man: No Way Home," has passed away at 82. Her family reported that after she suffered a stroke, doctors indicated her condition would not improve, leading to the decision to remove her from life support.
Mary Rivera, who played the grandmother of Ned Leeds in the film "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021), has passed away at the age of 82, her family announced overnight between Monday and Tuesday.
Rivera died on April 15, and her body was subsequently cremated. She is survived by her husband, four children, 11 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Rivera was born on June 2, 1943, in Iloilo, Philippines.
A family member told TMZ that Rivera suffered a stroke and was placed on life support. According to him, doctors clarified to the family that even if she were to wake from the coma, her condition was not expected to improve, and as a result, it was decided to disconnect her from the machines.
Her most memorable scene in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" was alongside Peter Parker, played by Andrew Garfield, Ned (Jacob Batalon), and MJ, played by Zendaya. After Peter emerges from the multiverse to assist Tom Holland's Spider-Man, Rivera enters the room and diffuses the tension: with Ned's translation, she asks Garfield's Spider-Man to climb the ceiling and clean cobwebs from a hard-to-reach corner.
The family member who spoke with TMZ added that Rivera was very proud of her role in the film and considered getting it one of the most significant achievements of her life. In an interview she gave in May 2022, Rivera's daughter, Angie Kelly, told how her mother got the role:
"I was just scrolling through a friend's Facebook and saw a casting call looking for a local Filipino grandmother from Hawaii aged 50 to 90. I immediately thought: 'Well, my mom fits and meets all these requirements'."
Kelly said she managed to convince Rivera to audition for the role. "They just asked her to talk about herself and why she wanted to do the role. She briefly talked about her time in the Philippines, about what brought her to the United States, and about raising her four children and 11 grandchildren — and basically said that this is her greatest achievement out of everything she has done," Kelly said. "My mom wore many hats over the years. She was a radio broadcaster and a teacher, but her most significant role was as a mother and grandmother," added Kelly.
Batalon, who played Ned in the film, paid tribute to her in response to an Entertainment Weekly post on Instagram about her death. "REST IN PARADISE LOLA," he wrote, adding a crying emoji and a string of red hearts.
