Alicia Nash’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Alicia Esther Nash (née Lardé Lopez-Harrison; January 1, 1933 – May 23, 2015) was the wife of mathematician John Forbes Nash, Jr. She was a mental-health care advocate, who gave up her professional aspirations to support her husband and son who were both diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Her life with Nash was chronicled in the 1998 book, A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar, as well as in the 2001 film of the same title.

Personal life

Alicia Lardé was born January 1, 1933 in El Salvador, the daughter of Alicia (née Lopez-Harrison) and Carlos Lardé, a doctor. The Lardé also included two boys, Carlos and Rolando Lardé. Both of her parents came from socially prominent, well travelled families who spoke several languages. Her aunt was the poet Alice Lardé Venturino; her paternal grandfather was Jorge Lardé, a chemical engineer.

When Lardé was a child, her father traveled to the United States a few times before deciding to move the family there permanently in 1944. After first settling in Mississippi, the family later moved to New York City. Lardé was accepted to the Marymount School with the help of a letter of recommendation from El Salvador’s Ambassador to the United States. Following graduation from Marymount, Nash was accepted into Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from where she graduated in 1955 with a degree in physics. She was one of 16 women among approximately 800 men in M.I.T.’s Class of 1955. It was there she met her future husband, John Forbes Nash, Jr.

Despite Lardé seeing signs of Nash’s schizophrenia early in their relationship, the couple married in 1957. Following their marriage, the new Mrs. Nash decided to commit her husband into McLean Hospital in order to receive psychiatric treatment for his illness. The couple divorced in 1963. Nash continued to help take care of her now ex-husband after their separation; the couple remarried in 2001.

Career

After graduation from M.I.T., Nash went to work for the Brookhaven Nuclear Development Corporation as a lab physicist. In the early 1960s, she worked for RCA as an aerospace engineer in the Astro Division and later worked for a short time at Con Edison as a system programmer. Years later she worked for the New Jersey Transit system as a computer programmer and data analyst. She was a member of numerous women’s engineering societies. When the film A Beautiful Mind was released, Nash was serving as president of M.I.T.’s Alumni Association Board.

Mental health advocacy

Nash became a spokesperson about schizophrenia and mental illness. In 2005 she was given the Luminary Award from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. She traveled around the country to discuss rights for those with mental illness, and in 2009 she met with New Jersey state lawmakers to discuss how to improve that state’s mental health care system. In 2012, she was honored at the University of Texas at Austin’s John and Alicia Nash Conference for her support of those with mental illness, where she delivered the keynote address.

Death

Nash and her husband were killed in a car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike on May 23, 2015, near Monroe Township, New Jersey. They were on their way home after a visit to Norway, where her husband had been awarded the Abel Prize. The driver of the taxicab they were riding in from Newark Airport lost control of the cab and struck a guardrail. Both passengers were ejected from the vehicle upon impact.

Portrayal in media

Nash was portrayed by Jennifer Connelly in the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind. For her performance, Connelly won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, mentioning Nash during her acceptance speech.