Patrick Stewart’s Cause of Death: Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia

Sir Patrick Stewart died on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at his home in Los Angeles, at the age of 86. His longtime spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, said in a statement that he died “in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny” and “following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.”

Most people knew him as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation or as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, but he began as a classical stage actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company, after growing up in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England, where he was born in 1940. He was knighted in 2010 for services to drama, published his memoir Making It So in 2023, and is survived by his wife, Sunny Ozell, and his children, Daniel and Sophia.

What Was Patrick Stewart’s Cause of Death?

His family named two diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, and described his last days at home with family and friends, “live music, prayer, tears, laughter.” His diagnosis was never made public while he was alive, and ABC News reported that it is unclear when he was diagnosed. The family has not shared what symptoms he had or how long he was ill, so we will leave those questions where they have left them.

Having Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia Together

Many people are surprised to learn that someone can have two kinds of dementia at once. Doctors call this mixed dementia, and Alzheimer’s combined with Lewy body dementia is one of the most common forms of it. When the Alzheimer’s Association looked at autopsy studies of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, 54% had other changes in the brain as well, and Lewy bodies were the second most common of those.

The two diseases damage the brain in different ways and tend to show up differently at first. Alzheimer’s involves buildups of the proteins amyloid and tau, and it usually starts with memory loss, such as forgetting a recent conversation or asking the same question several times. Lewy body dementia involves clumps of a protein called alpha-synuclein inside brain cells, and its early signs are more often swings between clear, alert periods and times of confusion, visual hallucinations that seem completely real, stiffness or slowed movement like Parkinson’s disease, and acting out dreams during sleep. Our article on Lewy body dementia vs Alzheimer’s goes through these differences in more detail.

Why the Lewy Body Part Is Easy to Miss

When both diseases are present, the symptoms blend together, and the memory loss of Alzheimer’s can draw attention away from everything else. A person may carry an Alzheimer’s diagnosis for years while hallucinations, falls, or sudden changes in alertness are put down to the disease getting worse, to medication side effects, or to aging. Robin Williams is the best-known example of how hidden LBD can be, since the disease was only confirmed after his death in 2014.

Missing the Lewy body part of a diagnosis has real consequences, because people with LBD can have severe, sometimes life-threatening reactions to traditional antipsychotics such as haloperidol (Haldol). Those drugs are sometimes used to calm agitation or hallucinations in people with dementia, so a person treated only for Alzheimer’s could be given one without anyone realizing the danger. Our medication safety guide explains which drugs to avoid.

Signs to Watch for When Someone Already Has an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

If your loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and you notice any of the following, ask their doctor whether Lewy body dementia could also be involved:

• Seeing people, animals, or objects that are not there, especially in vivid detail
• Good days and bad days, or hours of clarity followed by confusion or heavy drowsiness
• New stiffness, shuffling, slowness, or frequent falls
• Shouting, kicking, or acting out dreams during sleep
• A strong bad reaction to a new medication, particularly one given for agitation or hallucinations

A neurologist who knows LBD well (a Movement Disorder Neurologist is suggested) is the best person to sort this out.  Our article on the early signs of Lewy body dementia covers more of what to look for.

Stewart’s death follows those of French actress Nathalie Baye in April and CNN founder Ted Turner in May, both of whom also had LBD. There is still no cure for Lewy body dementia, but recognizing it changes how a person is cared for and protects them from medications that could cause serious harm.

If his story has you wondering about changes in someone you love, call our helpline at 516-218-2026 or 833-LBD-LINE. We answer every day from 8am to 8pm Eastern time, and you can also email norma@lbdrc.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Patrick Stewart die of? Patrick Stewart died on October 28, 2026, at age 86, at his home in Los Angeles. His family said he died following a brief illness with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

Did Patrick Stewart have Lewy body dementia? Yes, the statement released by his spokesperson named both Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. His diagnosis was not made public before his death, and the family has not said when he was diagnosed.

Can someone have Alzheimer’s and Lewy body dementia at the same time? Yes, this is called mixed dementia, and the Alzheimer’s Association reports that Lewy bodies are the second most common type of brain change found alongside Alzheimer’s disease in autopsies.

How is Lewy body dementia different from Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s usually begins with memory loss, while Lewy body dementia more often begins with swings in alertness, visual hallucinations, movement problems, or acting out dreams during sleep. People with LBD can also react dangerously to certain medications commonly used in dementia care.