How Eva Marie Saint Is Celebrating Her 100th Birthday Alongside 'Four Generations of Family' (Exclusive)

Independence Day marks an extra special date this year for Eva Marie Saint.

The legendary actress is celebrating her 100th birthday on Thursday, July 4. The Academy Award winner tells PEOPLE she plans to celebrate with four generations of family members.

“I’m looking forward to spending my 100th birthday in Los Angeles with my dear, dear family. Four generations of family members will be gathering together from Los Angeles, Chicago, Santa Barbara and San Francisco," Saint, whose Oscar win came in 1955 for her role in On the Waterfront alongside Marlon Brando, says.

"I certainly don’t feel 100 years old," the actress adds of her daily life. "I continue to take walks out in the fresh air, like watching baseball — especially the Los Angeles Dodgers, and enjoy time with my family and friends. A good life.” 

Saint began acting for the screen in 1947. Her first onscreen credit came for a television movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol, in which she costarred with John Carradine and David Carradine. Over more than 60 years as an actor, Saint appeared in memorable movies like A Hatful of Rain (1957) North by Northwest (1959), Loving (1970), Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) and Superman Returns (2006).

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She also maintained a successful career on television, winning an Emmy Award in 1990 for her role in the TV movie People Like Us and receiving four additional Emmy nominations over the course of her career. As a result of her success in both film and television, Saint has two separate stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles to denote her work in both areas.

Saint was married to the late director, writer and producer Jeffrey Hayden, whom she met in New York City, from 1951 until Hayden's death at 90 in 2016. The couple shared two children, Darrell and Laurette, as well as three grandchildren. In 2010, she told The Santa Barbara Independent she remembered Hayden having to help her up when she won her Oscar in 1955, just two days before she gave birth to their son.

"If you ever see footage of me — when they announce my name — you can see me pause and wait a moment," she said at the time. "Jeff had his thumb on my thigh; I couldn’t get up. So I slowly walked up and said something like, 'I’m so excited I might have the baby right here.' "

In 2018, Saint memorably appeared onstage at the 90th Academy Awards, where she presented the award for Best Costume Design to the movie Phantom Thread.