Patrick Stewart has died at age 86, according to a message posted to his Instagram account. The message says the actor died in his Los Angeles home on Wednesday "following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia."
Stewart was born in 1940 in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England. He began his acting career in theater. He won his best-known role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, which ran from 1987 to 1994. He returned as the captain in the films *Star Trek: Generations* (1994), *Star Trek: First Contact* (1996), *Star Trek: Insurrection* (1998), and *Star Trek: Nemesis* (2002). He also played Professor Charles Xavier in several *X-Men* movies. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2010.
The Instagram message paid tribute to his work. "His sonorous voice and singular talent will forever be synonymous with indelible performances in every genre," it says.