Newsletters
Mary Rivera, the Filipina actress who played Ned's grandmother, or "lola," in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," has died at age 82. TMZ reported that Rivera died April 15 in Honolulu, Hawaii, following a stroke.
Rivera was born on June 2, 1943, in Iloilo Province, in the central Philippines. She attended the University of San Agustin in nearby Iloilo City, graduating in 1964 with a degree in education, and later worked for the radio station Kanlaon Broadcasting System.
It is unclear when she moved to the United States, but she had settled in Hawaii, where she worked as a teacher and was a retired church missionary before her death.
Rivera appeared in a single scene in "No Way Home," but the moment became one of the film's most memorable. In the scene, Ned, played by Jacob Batalon, and MJ, played by Zendaya, realize they can use Doctor Strange's ring to open portals between dimensions while in Rivera's kitchen.
The scene marks the first appearance of Andrew Garfield's and Tobey Maguire's versions of Spider-Man in Tom Holland's dimension, as well as their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The casting of Garfield and Maguire had been kept secret ahead of the film's release, and audiences reacted with loud enthusiasm in theaters when the two actors appeared.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
