The announcement came on Thursday, and accounts differ on how it was delivered. Some name a spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, who described "a brief and poignant journey." Others cite a statement on his Instagram page, which said his wife, Sunny Ozell, was at his side. Others cite a family statement that said he passed "in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny."

Stewart was born on July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and grew up in a working-class home without a bathroom. Three outlets report that his father was violent. He joined an amateur drama group at 12 and left school at 15. He later won a place at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, made his London debut in 1966, and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967. He stayed 14 years, in roles from King John to Shylock. His earliest television role, in Coronation Street, also dates to 1967, and his screen work included Sejanus in I, Claudius and a Soviet intelligence officer in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

He began playing Picard in 1987. The Next Generation ran until 1994, drew more than 30 million American viewers and won 19 Emmys. Stewart's Picard run covered seven years, 178 episodes and four films, and he returned to the character in Star Trek: Picard. He played Xavier from 2000 to 2017, a stretch that included Logan, in which he appeared with Hugh Jackman. One report says his last on-screen role is scheduled to be Xavier again, his ninth time in the part, in Avengers: Doomsday.

Theatre filled much of his career. He performed a solo A Christmas Carol that won an Olivier award, and he earned a Tony nomination for Macbeth in 2007-2008. With Ian McKellen he appeared in No Man's Land and Waiting for Godot. The two worked together for more than 50 years, and McKellen officiated at Stewart's 2013 wedding to Ozell, a musician about 40 years his junior. Stewart was made an OBE in 2001 and knighted in 2010.

McKellen called him "a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love." Jackman wrote on Instagram, "We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today." LeVar Burton called him "family." Dafne Keen, who worked with him on Logan, called him "one of the greatest of our time."

Stewart supported Huddersfield Town, served as president of its academy, and celebrated the club's 2017 Premier League promotion at Wembley Stadium. He was also a patron of the charities Refuge and Combat Stress.

His first marriage, to Sheila Falconer, ran from 1966 to 1990, and his second, to Wendy Neuss, from 2000 to 2003. In his 2023 memoir, Making It So, he expressed remorse over the end of the first marriage and said he was "practically non-existent" during his children's upbringing, a regret he said he feels every day. In a July 2026 interview ahead of his 86th birthday, he said, "I can't imagine ever officially 'retiring'. I'll always and forever be an actor."

He is survived by Ozell and two children from his first marriage.