Early television career Saint's introduction to television began as an
NBC page. She appeared in the live NBC-TV show
Campus Hoopla in 1946–47. Her performances on this program are recorded on rare
kinescope, and audio recordings of these telecasts are preserved in the
Library of Congress. She also appeared in ''
Bonnie Maid's Versa-Tile Varieties on NBC in 1949 as one of the original singing "Bonnie Maids" used in the live commercials. and also in a 1949 feature Life'' article about her as a struggling actress earning minimum amounts from early TV while trying to make ends meet in New York City. In 1954, Saint won the
Outer Critics Circle Special Award for her Broadway stage role in the
Horton Foote play
The Trip to Bountiful (1953), in which she co-starred with actresses such as
Lillian Gish and
Jo Van Fleet. In 1955, Saint was nominated for her first
Emmy for "Best Actress In A Single Performance" on
The Philco Television Playhouse, playing the young mistress of middle-aged
E. G. Marshall in
Middle of the Night by
Paddy Chayefsky. She won another Emmy nomination for the 1955 television musical version of
Our Town, adapted from the
Thornton Wilder play of the same name. Co-stars were
Paul Newman and
Frank Sinatra. Her success and acclaim in TV productions were of such a high level that "one slightly hyperbolic primordial TV critic dubbed her 'the Helen Hayes of television.'" The film was a major success and launched Saint's film career. She received $7,500 for the role. In a 2000 interview in
Premiere magazine, Saint recalled making the film, which has been highly influential, saying, "[Elia] Kazan put me in a room with Marlon Brando. He said 'Brando is the boyfriend of your sister. You're not used to being with a young man. Don't let him in the door under any circumstances.' I don't know what he told Marlon; you'll have to ask him—good luck! [Brando] came in and started teasing me. He put me off balance. And I remained off balance for the whole shoot." She repeated the anecdote in a 2010 interview. Her appearance in
On The Waterfront is referenced in the lyrics of the 1984 song
Rattlesnakes by
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Saint appeared alongside
Bob Hope in
That Certain Feeling (1956) for which she received $50,000.
North by Northwest and Saint in
North by Northwest, 1959 Director
Alfred Hitchcock surprised many by choosing Saint over dozens of other candidates for the
femme fatale role in what was to become the suspense classic
North by Northwest (1959) with
Cary Grant and
James Mason. Written by
Ernest Lehman, the film updated and expanded upon the director's early "wrong man" spy adventures of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, including
The 39 Steps,
Young and Innocent and
Saboteur.
North by Northwest became a box-office hit and an influence on spy films for decades. The film ranks number forty on the
American Film Institute's list of the
100 Greatest American Movies of All Time. Hitchcock worked with Saint to make her voice lower and huskier, and personally chose costumes for her during a shopping trip to
Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. The change in Saint's screen persona, coupled with her adroit performance as a seductive woman of mystery who keeps Cary Grant (and the audience) off balance, was widely heralded. In his review of August 7, 1959,
The New York Times critic
Abe H. Weiler wrote, "In casting Eva Marie Saint as [Cary Grant's] romantic vis-a-vis, Mr. Hitchcock has plumbed some talents not shown by the actress heretofore. Although she is seemingly a hard, designing type, she also emerges both the sweet heroine and a glamorous charmer." In 2000, recalling her experience making the picture with Cary Grant and Hitchcock, Saint said, "[Grant] would say, 'See, Eva Marie, you don't have to cry in a movie to have a good time. Just kick up your heels and have fun.' Hitchcock said, 'I don't want you to do a sink-to-sink movie again, ever. You've done these black-and-white movies like
On the Waterfront. It's drab in that tenement house. Women go to the movies, and they've just left the sink at home. They don't want to see you at the sink.'" In a 2010 interview she stated: "I said, 'I can't promise you that, Hitch, because I love those dramas.'" Saint appeared with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the melodrama
The Sandpiper for
Vincente Minnelli, and with
James Garner in the
World War II thriller
36 Hours (1965), directed by
George Seaton. Saint joined an all-star cast in the comedic satire,
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, directed by
Norman Jewison, and the international racing drama,
Grand Prix (1966) directed by Frankenheimer and presented in
Cinerama. Saint received some of her best reviews for her performance in
Loving (1970), co-starring as the wife of
George Segal. The film was about a commercial artist's relationship with his wife and other women; it was critically acclaimed but did not have wide viewership. Because of the mostly second-rate film roles that came her way in the 1970s, Saint returned to
television and the stage in the 1980s. She received an
Emmy nomination for the 1977 miniseries
How The West Was Won and a 1978 Emmy nomination for
Taxi!!!. She was reunited with
On the Waterfront co-star
Karl Malden in the television film
Fatal Vision, this time as the wife of his character, as he investigated the murder of his daughter and granddaughters. She played the mother of
Cybill Shepherd in the television series
Moonlighting, a role that spanned episodes over three years. Critics applauded her return to features. Saint was soon back on the small screen in numerous projects. After receiving five nominations, she won her first
Emmy Award for the 1990 miniseries
People Like Us. She appeared in a number of television productions in the 1990s and was cast as the mother of radio producer, Roz Doyle, in a 1999 episode of the comedy series
Frasier. In 2000, Saint returned to feature films in
I Dreamed of Africa with
Kim Basinger. In 2005, she co-starred with
Jessica Lange and
Sam Shepard in ''
Don't Come Knocking. Also in 2005, she appeared in the family film Because of Winn-Dixie'', co-starring
AnnaSophia Robb,
Jeff Daniels and
Cicely Tyson. In 2006, Saint appeared in
Superman Returns as
Martha Kent, the adoptive mother of
Superman, alongside
Brandon Routh and archival footage of her
On the Waterfront co-star
Marlon Brando. Saint was presented one of the
Golden Boot Awards in 2007 for her contributions to western cinema. Saint lent her voice to the 2012
Nickelodeon animated series
The Legend of Korra, a sequel to the hit TV show
Avatar: The Last Airbender, playing the now-elderly
Katara, a main character from the original series. In September 2012, Saint was cast as the adult version of Willa in the
film adaptation of the novel
''Winter's Tale'' by
Mark Helprin. At the age of 93, Saint appeared at the
2018 Academy Award ceremony to present the award for Costume Design. She received a standing ovation upon entering the stage. In 2021, Saint appeared alongside
Marisa Tomei in the podcast play series "The Pack Podcast" as part of the segment "The Bus Ride". Saint has two stars on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures at 6624
Hollywood Boulevard, and one for television at 6730 Hollywood Boulevard. ==Personal life==