Mary Rivera, the actress who won the hearts of Marvel fans around the world with her performance as Ned’s Lola in Spider-Man: No Way Home, has passed away at the age of 86.
Born on June 2, 1940, in Iloilo, Philippines, Rivera was not an actor by trade.
Instead, she was a retired church missionary living in Hawaii when her daughter, Kelly, discovered a Marvel casting call seeking a Filipina grandmother.
Image: Marvel.com
“I happened to be on a friend’s Facebook scrolling, and I see an ad, a casting call looking for a local Hawaiʻi Filipina grandmother between the age of 50 and 90,” Kelly told Entertainment Weekly. “And immediately I thought, ‘Oh, well my mom qualifies and checks off all those boxes.’”
Auditioning For Marvel
Without extensive acting experience to rely on, Rivera instead shared stories from her own life during the audition process, including her journey from the Philippines to the United States, raising her family, and the many jobs she held throughout her life.
Photo: PEOPLE
“They just asked her to talk about herself and why she wanted to do the role. So she just gave a brief history of her time in the Philippines and what brought her to the United States, and raising her four children and 11 grandchildren — and basically that that is her biggest accomplishment of everything that she’s done,” Kelly said.
Photo: Variety
“My mom has worn many hats over the years. She was a radio broadcaster, a teacher, but most notable was her role as a mother and grandmother.”
An Iconic Scene
As Ned’s grandmother, Rivera appeared in one of Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s most memorable scenes, when Andrew Garfield’s and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Men first meet.
Fans will remember the moment when she calmly asks Garfield’s Spider-Man to clean a cobweb while he is clinging to the ceiling.
Photo: Marvel
Rivera was reportedly “extremely proud” of her role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, considering it one of her most cherished accomplishments.
Jacob Batalon Pays Tribute
According to the Rivera family, Mary suffered a stroke that left her in a coma. Doctors later removed her from life support.
Photo: Metro
She is survived by her husband, Alejandro Rivera, four children, 11 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
After news of Rivera’s passing began to spread, Jacob Batalon, who plays Ned in the MCU, paid tribute by commenting on Entertainment Weekly‘s Instagram post.
“REST IN PARADISE LOLA,” he wrote, alongside a series of heart and crying emojis.
Photo: MickeyBlog
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