Gloria Stuart was the stage name of an American actress, activist, painter, bonsai artist and fine art printer and printmaker. She was born Gloria Frances Stewart on July 4, 1910 in Santa Monica, California, USA. She died on September 26, 2010 in Los Angeles California at the age of 100 due to respiratory failure.

Stuart attended Santa Monica High School and graduated in 1927. She then went to the University of California, Berkeley where she majored in drama and philosophy. However, she dropped out in her junior year to marry Blair Gordon Newell.

In 1932, Gloria Stuart signed a contract with the Universal Studios and became a favorite of director James Whale. She appeared in his films such as The Old Dark House, The Kiss Before the Mirror and The Invisible Man.

She was an activist and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). She soon got disappointed with her career in Universal and decided to move to 20th Century Fox. Between late 1930s and early 1940s, she appeared in more than forty films, most of which have been forgotten. Some of these are Busby Berkeley’s Gold Digger of 1935 and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

Stuart is best remembered for playing the older version of Rose, who survived the ship’s sinking in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, directed by James Cameron. She was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Up to date, she is the oldest person ever to have been nominated for an Oscar.