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Hollywood & Entertainment Mary Rivera, Ned’s Grandmother In ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ Dies At 82 By Tim Lammers ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover Hollywood and entertainment. Follow Author Aug 03, 2026, 08:55pm EDT Aug 03, 2026, 09:19pm EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary Mary Rivera, known for her memorable role as Ned's Lola in *Spider-Man: No Way Home*, has died at 82 on April 15 after suffering a stroke. Her family made the difficult decision to remove her from life support following a discouraging prognosis. Rivera's granddaughter discovered a Facebook casting call for a Hawaiian Filipina grandmother, leading to Rivera's only screen appearance. In a comical scene, she famously asked Spider-Man to clear a cobweb. Rivera was immensely proud of showcasing Filipino language and culture on the big screen, a truly humbling cinematic moment. She is survived by her husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Mary Rivera, who played a small but memorable role in the 2021 blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home , has died.
Rivera died on April 15, according to TMZ . She was 82. A family member told TMZ that Rivera had suffered a stroke and was removed from life support after a they received a discouraging prognosis from her doctor about her chances of recovering.
Rivera was featured in a scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home as Ned’s (Jacob Batalon) Filipino grandmother (or Lola in Taglog). In addition to Batalon, Zendaya’s MJ was featured in the scene, along with Andrew Garfield’s version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, who emerges in bewilderment from the multiverse.
In the comical scene, embedded below, Ned’s grandma asks Spider-Man to remove a cobweb in the corner of the room after he enters her house. After that, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man/Parker arrives at her house through the multiversal portal and she asks the two Spideys to clean up their webs before she goes upstairs to bed.
A resident of Hawaii, Spider-Man: No Way Home marked Rivera’s only screen appearance.
In an interview with Hawaii Public Radio’s show, The Conversation, in May 2022, Rivera’s granddaughter, Angie Kelly, recalled how Rivera landed the role.
"I happened to be on a friend's Facebook scrolling, and I see an ad, a casting call looking for a local Hawaiʻi Filipina grandmother between the age of 50 and 90. And immediately I thought, 'Oh, well my mom qualifies and checks off all those boxes,'" Kelly told The Conversation .
Kelly also discussed with the show how proud Rivera was of her big-screen accomplishment.
"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," Kelly told The Conversation . "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."
Despite a slowdown in business because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spider-Man: No Way Home , starring Tom Holland as the webslinger, was a blockbuster hit, earning $1.9 billion at the worldwide box office.
According to TMZ, Rivera is survived by husband, Alejandro, and her children, as well as 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Starring Holland, Zendaya, Batalon, Sadie Sink and Jon Bernthal, Spider-Man: Brand New Day , the follow-up to Spider-Man: No Way Home , was released in theaters over the weekend and broke the all-time domestic record for the biggest opening of all time with $360 million in North American ticket sales. Combined with international ticket sales, Spider-Man: Brand New Day earned $932 million globally in its first weekend in theaters.
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