When it comes to the Spider-Man mythology, there are certain components that are always present. One is that Peter Parker is always bitten by a spider; another is that Peter’s Uncle Ben dies while Peter is a teenager; and another is that Peter’s Aunt May is an important presence in Pete’s life.
Ever since the first appearance of Spider-Man, way back in 1963’s Amazing Fantasy issue #15, Aunt May has been an integral part of the Spidey mythology. In some stories she appears in the background, in other stories she takes centre stage, but no matter what, May Parker is always present.
And Aunt May’s presence in the Marvel Universe isn’t just confined to the comics, as she has become an important part of the Spider-Man movies too. The character has appeared in both live-action and animated features, acting as a key figure in the life of Peter Parker, and fans wouldn’t have it any other way.
But which actresses have played the role of Aunt May in the Spider-Man movies?
For all the details and more, read on.
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Every actress who has played Aunt May in the Spider-Man movies
The first actress to play Aunt May in the Spider-Man movies is Jeff Donnell, who played the role of Peter Parker’s aunt in the 1977 movie, The Amazing Spider-Man. For those keeping tabs, The Amazing Spider-Man originally aired as a pilot for the live-action television series of the same name, before being released internationally as a movie.
The next actress to take on the role of Aunt May was Rosemary Harris, who played the character in no less than three movies. Harris first appeared in Spider-Man (2002) opposite Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben, before reprising the part for Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).
Following on from Harris, Sally Field took on the part of Aunt May for two movies. Field made her debut as Aunt May in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), before returning for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014).
The next incarnation of Aunt May was brought to the big screen by Marisa Tomei, who appeared briefly in Captain America: Civil War (2016), before reprising the role for Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). The actress then appeared in Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
And finally, while Tomei was busy playing the role of Aunt May in live-action, another Aunt May popped up in animated form for the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. For this film, Lily Tomlin took on voice duties.
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A list of every Aunt May actress
To recap, here is a list of all the actresses who have played Aunt May in a Spider-Man movie:
- Jeff Donnell
- Rosemary Harris
- Sally Field
- Marisa Tomei
- Lily Tomlin
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One Response to Who played Aunt May in the Spider-Man movies?
[…] wide open and able to be accessed for one movie or another, one might as well say that they like them all to varying degrees. Personally, Field is the compromise between Harris and Tomei since she’s […]
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