Mary Rivera, the Filipina non-professional actress who played Ned's grandmother, or "lola", in Spider-Man: No Way Home, has died at the age of 82. She died on 15 April in Honolulu, Hawaii, after suffering a stroke, according to TMZ. Rivera became a beloved figure to fans thanks to a single scene that turned out to be one of the most memorable in the film, and her death has prompted tributes recalling the cultural significance of her role.

Rivera was born in Iloilo Province in the Philippines in 1943 and worked as a teacher and church missionary before later settling in Hawaii. She won the part after answering a Facebook casting call for a Filipina performer aged 50 to 90, submitting an audition tape featuring lines from The Grapes of Wrath. Her single scene became iconic as the moment Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man versions first appeared in Tom Holland's dimension, and it was also praised for its Filipino representation, with Rivera delivering dialogue in Tagalog, a first for a major Hollywood blockbuster. She is survived by her husband, four children, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.