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Mary Rivera, Ned’s ‘Lola’ in Spider-Man, Dies at 82

Family statements say she suffered a stroke, fell into a coma and was taken off life support after doctors gave a poor prognosis.

Overview

  • Rivera died on April 15, 2026, in Honolulu, a fact disclosed publicly in early August when her family spoke to TMZ.
  • Her relatives told TMZ that she suffered a stroke, entered a coma and that doctors warned recovery would leave her with a poor prognosis, prompting the family to remove life support.
  • Rivera was a non‑professional actor who won the role after producers posted a Facebook casting call and her daughter, Angie Kelly, encouraged her to submit an audition tape.
  • Her brief Tagalog scene as Ned Leeds’ grandmother in Spider-Man: No Way Home became a widely cited moment of Filipino representation in a major Hollywood film and a fan favorite.
  • Obituaries list her birth in Iloilo, Philippines, on June 2, 1943, note prior work as a teacher, radio broadcaster and missionary, and name her husband Alejandro, four children, 11 grandchildren and four great‑grandchildren as survivors while one outlet published a conflicting age.