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Who is Patrick Stewart's Wife, Sunny Ozell - Who Was By His Side When He Died?
Sir Patrick Stewart, the Star Trek and X-Men star, has died at the age of 86, with his wife, singer Sunny Ozell, at his side.
Stewart died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, October 28, his longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak confirmed, per CBS News. According to the statement, he died in the loving care of "his beloved wife Sunny" after a brief battle with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. "He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all," Novak said. Here is what we know about the woman he shared the last 18 years of his life with.
All images are sourced from Sunny Ozell's Instagram page.
What is Sunny Ozell's Background?
Sunny Ozell was born on December 23, 1978, in Reno, Nevada. Her parents were not performers but took music education seriously, and she began playing the violin at four. She started vocal training at 11 and was working with an opera coach by 13.
She studied English literature at university in Boulder, Colorado, singing in blues and soul-funk bands in her spare time. After graduating, she moved to New York and built a following on the city's club scene. Through her marriage, she is formally known as Lady Stewart. Stewart was knighted in 2010.
What Does Sunny Ozell Do for Work?
She is a singer-songwriter whose music blends jazz, blues, country and Americana. She was a regular at New York venues such as Rockwood Music Hall and The Living Room.
She considers Take It with Me, released in 2015 and made up mostly of covers of artists including Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Hank Williams, to be her debut album. She followed it with Overnight Lows, a record of original songs.
She has named Gillian Welch and David Rawlings among her influences.
How Did Patrick Stewart and Sunny Ozell Meet?
In 2008, at Franny's, a Brooklyn restaurant where Ozell was waitressing while Stewart was starring in Macbeth at the nearby Brooklyn Academy of Music, per Grub Street.
She offered him a free dessert and mentioned that the show had sold out. Stewart, who later said he had never done such a thing before, gave her his phone number and offered to get her a ticket when the play moved to Broadway. They went to dinner after she saw it adds Express via AOL.
She then invited him to one of her late-night gigs. Stewart admitted he feared she might be a bad singer, but those doubts vanished when he heard her sing "Tennessee Waltz".
When Did Patrick Stewart and Sunny Ozell Get Married?
They announced their engagement in March 2013 and married on September 7, 2013, beside Lake Tahoe, with Stewart's friend and X-Men co-star Sir Ian McKellen officiating, writes The New York Times.
Because of a legal problem with McKellen's credentials in Nevada, the couple held a second, legally binding ceremony at a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. Ozell later joked that the Lake Tahoe party was so rowdy that "everyone was really, properly drunk", adds Express via AOL.
It was Stewart's third marriage. He was previously married to choreographer Sheila Falconer, with whom he had two children, Daniel and Sophie, and to producer Wendy Neuss.
How Big Was the Age Gap Between Patrick Stewart and Sunny Ozell?
Nearly four decades. Stewart was 73 and Ozell 35 when they married. Stewart said her father was initially "not thrilled" but that the two men became good friends.
He often joked that his father-in-law, five years his junior, called him "son", states Express via AOL.
What Causes Did the Couple Support?
Animal rescue was close to both their hearts. In 2017, they went viral after fostering a pit bull named Ginger, and they used their platform to champion Wags and Walks, a Los Angeles rescue group, shares Express via AOL.
Stewart was also an advocate for survivors of domestic violence, LGBTQ+ equality, refugees and veterans' mental health, per ABC News.
Who Survives Patrick Stewart?
Stewart is survived by Ozell and his two children from his first marriage, Daniel Stewart and Sophie Alexandra Stewart.
Tributes have poured in from across Hollywood. Seth MacFarlane, who cast Stewart in Family Guy and American Dad, wrote that he was one of those icons everyone assumed would always be around (CBS News).
The family's statement on his death was shared on Stewart's own social media accounts.
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