Mary Egida Rivera, the Filipino-American actress beloved for her portrayal of Ned Leeds’ grandmother, Lola, in the 2021 Marvel blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home, has died aged 82.
Rivera died peacefully on April 15, 2026, in Honolulu, Hawaii, according to her obituary.
The actress had suffered a stroke prior to her death.
Born on June 2, 1943, in Iloilo Province in the Philippines, Ms Rivera was not a professional actress but won hearts worldwide through her single scene in the Tom Holland superhero film, sharing the screen with Jacob Batalon, Zendaya, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire.
Mary Rivera appeared in the 2021 blockbuster
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SONY PICTURES
Her obituary noted that “she was very proud” of being cast as the Filipino grandmother in the Marvel film.
Her family revealed to TMZ that Ms Rivera had been placed on life support following the stroke but that her condition was critical.
Doctors warned that even if she emerged from the coma, her outlook would remain poor.
Armed with that medical assessment, her relatives took the step of switching off life support.
Tom Holland played Spider-Man in No Way Home
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GETTYThough Ms Rivera passed away in April, the news only came to wider public attention on August 3 when TMZ published its report, with her family sharing details of her final days.
Relatives told the outlet that Ms Rivera “lived a good life” and that her time on screen in the Sony Pictures blockbuster had been a source of immense pride for the entire family.
Ms Rivera grew up in Iloilo Province and studied at the University of San Agustin in Iloilo City, earning an education degree in 1964.
She went on to work at the Kanlaon Broadcasting System radio station before eventually settling in Hawaii, where she pursued careers in teaching and church missionary work.
Mary Rivera has sadly passed away at the age of 82.
She played Ned Leeds’ Lola in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. pic.twitter.com/v7hYMIkMqk
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 4, 2026
Her path to Hollywood was unplanned. Her daughter Angela Kelly spotted a Facebook advertisement from the producers of No Way Home seeking a Filipina performer aged between 50 and 90, and urged her mother to try out.
Ms Rivera submitted an audition tape in which she quoted lines from The Grapes of Wrath. Director Jon Watts gave her the freedom to deliver much of her dialogue in Tagalog, a moment Ms Rivera said caused “a swelling in my heart.”
The scene that made Ms Rivera famous remains one of No Way Home’s most iconic moments.
As Mr Batalon’s Ned and Zendaya’s MJ attempt to open a portal to find their Peter Parker, they inadvertently bring Andrew Garfield’s and Tobey Maguire’s versions of Spider-Man into the MCU for the first time.
Mary Rivera, star from ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ has sadly passed away at the age of 82. 🕯️ 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/yTkgL1rfCG
— TILL 99 (@TILL_099) August 4, 2026
After Mr Garfield’s webslinger crawls across the ceiling to prove his identity, Lola matter-of-factly asks him to clear away a cobweb from a hard-to-reach corner.
Her daughter Angela Kelly told Hawaii Public Radio: “It’s humbling really, because never before in cinematic history really has there been a place for the Filipino language and culture.”
Ms Rivera is survived by her husband Alejandro, children Carmela Jones, Paul Rivera, Edwin Rivera and Angela Kelly, along with 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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