Actress Who Played One Of The Most Important Parts In 'The Matrix' Dies

Veteran actress Mary Alice, who starred as “The Oracle” in “The Matrix Revolutions,” passed away on Thursday.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed that the Tony-award winner died due to natural cause at age 85. The authorities did not release other information. However, there’s a bit of confusion about her age since other sources claimed she was only 80 at the time of her death, Screen Rant reported.

Alice was well-known for her role in “The Matrix Revolutions.” She was one of the most important characters as she held the supernatural ability to foresee events in the future. Her character, “The Oracle,” was also the main cause of why the war ended since she manipulated key members of the Resistance, including the character of Neo, played by Keanu Reeves.

The veteran actress joined the “Matrix” franchise in 2001, after the original “Oracle,” played by Gloria Foster passed away.

Before “The Matrix Revolutions,” Alice led the original Broadway cast of “Fences” produced by late American playwright August Wilson. It was a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, part of Wilson’s 10-part Pittsburgh Cycle that explored race, love, and betrayal over the 20th century.

For her involvement in the project, Alice won Best Featured Actress at the Tony Awards. She starred as Rose, alongside American actor James Earl Jones.

Since then, the Broadway star rose to fame and even received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1993, for her role as Marguerite Peck in the series “I’ll Fly Away,” an NBC period drama tackling race relations in the South. She also received another Tony nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Play in 1995 when she played Dr. Bessey Delaney in “Emily Mann's Having Our Say.”

Since the news of her death broke, famous Hollywood personalities, including Violas Davis and Colman Domingo, took to social media to pay tribute to the late star.

In a post shared via Twitter, Domingo, 52, said, “A shoulder we all stood on. A round of applause for Mary Alice. Thank you, legend. Rest Easy,” alongside a black-and-white picture of the Broadway star.

Meanwhile, the “How to Get Away with Murder” star, 56, shared a photo of Alice beaming at the camera and holding her Tony award.

“RIP Mary Alice…the original Rose Maxson. You were one of the greatest actresses of all time!! Thank you for the work, and inspiration, and thank you for Rose. Godspeed Queen,” Davis wrote.

Alice’s final onscreen role was reportedly in the series “Kojak,” released in 2005.