Mary Rivera, whose daughter found the Facebook casting call that led to Spider-Man, dies at 82

Dubai: Mary Rivera had one screen credit. It happened to be in one of the highest-grossing films ever made, and it gave the Filipino language a moment in a Marvel blockbuster that had never quite happened before.

She has died at 82. Her family confirmed the news this week, several months after the fact, which is why it has landed in the same week as the new Spider-Man film.

Rivera played Lola, grandmother to Ned Leeds, the character played by Jacob Batalon. She appears in one of the film's biggest sequences, when the multiversal Peter Parkers played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are summoned to Ned's home while he and MJ are searching for their own Spider-Man.

The room is thick with tension. Then Rivera walks in and punctures it entirely.

Speaking Tagalog, with Ned translating, she asks Garfield's Spider-Man to climb up and clear the cobwebs from the ceiling. Later, Ned credits his Lola with teaching him that his family is magic, which is what allows him to use Doctor Strange's Sling Ring in the final act.

It was her only screen credit.

Speaking to KHON2 in Hawaii after the film's release, Rivera framed the whole thing modestly.

"It was a rare privilege for me, a simple Filipina, to be featured in a Hollywood movie," she said. "I wanted to bring some pride to my homeland of the Philippines."

Her daughter Angie Kelly told Hawaii Public Radio in 2022 that she had been scrolling through a friend's Facebook when an advertisement appeared: a casting call looking for a local Hawaii Filipina grandmother aged between 50 and 90.

The family encouraged her to audition. She got it, and it became one of her proudest accomplishments.

Kelly also spoke about what the role came to mean beyond their family. "It's been an amazing adventure. To us, she's just my mom. But to the rest of the world, she's Ned's Lola," she said. "It's humbling really, because never before in cinematic history really has there been a place for the Filipino language and culture. They did a really good job with paying attention to the details of our culture."

A Filipina grandmother speaking Tagalog, unsubtitled to the other characters and translated by her grandson, in a film that took nearly two billion dollars.

She was born Mary Egida Rivera on 2 June 1943 in Iloilo, in the Philippines, to Vicente and Felicia Egida. She had retired from working as a missionary by the time the role came along. She lived in Hawaii for several years.

Rivera is survived by her husband, Alejandro Rivera, and her children, Carmela Jones, Paul Rivera, Edwin Rivera and Angela Kelly, along with 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A tribute left on her obituary page, from someone who described her as a mentor and colleague, said she would be missed tremendously.

Rivera suffered a stroke and was placed on life support. Her obituary records that she died peacefully on 15 April in Honolulu. She was cremated afterwards.

A family member told TMZ that she had lived a good life and was extremely proud of the film.

TMZ reported her death on Monday 3 August, nearly four months after she died.

The timing means it has arrived alongside Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the direct sequel to No Way Home, which has just recorded the biggest domestic opening weekend ever and took around $941 million worldwide in its first three days.

Under the coverage, viewers have been posting their own small memorials. One recalled watching her ask Garfield's Spider-Man to deal with the cobwebs. Another wrote that the people in supporting roles are as much a part of what makes a film memorable, and hoped Rivera would be remembered for her contribution.

No Way Home took $1.91 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, putting it among the highest-grossing films in history. Jon Watts directed, with Benedict Cumberbatch, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong and Marisa Tomei in the cast.

Rivera was in it for a matter of moments, in her late seventies, having never acted professionally before, because her daughter happened to be scrolling Facebook.