Mary Rivera, the Filipina actress who introduced Tagalog and the image of a Filipino grandmother to one of Marvel’s biggest films, has died at the age of 82 after suffering a stroke months before the release of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
According to reports, Rivera passed away on April 15, in Honolulu. She fell into a coma after the stroke, and after doctors told her family her chances of recovery were extremely poor, they decided to remove her from life support. She was later cremated.
A native of Iloilo, Rivera appeared in the 2021 blockbuster “Spider-Man: No Way Home” as the grandmother of Ned Leeds, portrayed by Filipino American actor Jacob Batalon. She shared scenes with Zendaya and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man.
Speaking in Tagalog while Ned translated, Rivera asked Garfield’s Spider-Man to remove a cobweb from the ceiling. The lighthearted exchange became a memorable moment for bringing Filipino language and family culture into a major Hollywood superhero film.
“No Way Home” was Rivera’s only known acting credit. She landed the role after her daughter, Angie Kelly, found a Facebook casting call looking for a Filipina grandmother living in Hawaii between the ages of 50 and 90.
“It was a rare privilege for me, a simple Filipina, to be featured in a Hollywood movie,” Rivera said in an earlier television interview. “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.”
Outside of acting, Rivera worked as a teacher and radio broadcaster. Her family said she treasured her role in the Marvel film.
“To us, she’s just my mom. But to the rest of the world, she’s Ned’s Lola,” Kelly said.
Rivera died just months before the release of the latest Spider-Man film, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” which went on to post the highest domestic opening weekend in history with a reported $360 million in ticket sales across the United States and Canada
