Alicia Nash

Alicia Esther Nash (née Lopez-Harrison de Lardé; January 1, 1933 - May 23, 2015) was a Latin-American physicist, Mental health-care advocate, socialite, and wife of mathematician John Nash. Her life with Nash was part of the storyline in the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind.
Personal life
Alicia de Larde was born January 1, 1933 in El Salvador, the daughter of Alicia (née Lopez-Harrison) and Carlos de Lardé, a doctor. She had a brother, Rolando de Lardé. Both of her parents came from socially prominent, well traveled families, who spoke several languages. Her aunt was the poet Alice Lardé Venturino (1895-1983). Her paternal grandfather was Jorge de Lardé, a chemical engineer.
Her father traveled to the United States a few times before deciding to move his family there permanently in 1944 when Nash was a child. First settling in Mississippi, the family moved to New York City. Nash was accepted to the Marymount School through a letter of recommendation by the El Salvador's Ambassador to the United States. Following graduation from Marymount, Nash was accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she graduated with a degree in physics in 1955. She was one of only 16 women among 800 men in M.I.T.'s Class of 1955. It was there she met her future husband John Nash. Before the two met, he had been in a relationship with a nurse named Eleanor Stier (1921-2005), and they had a son together.
Nash had dreams of being the next Marie Curie, however; her relationship with her future husband began to consume her life when he began showing signs of schizophrenia.
Nash is credited for providing support to her husband, believing he could do great things if he could overcome his mental illness. The couple married in 1957, but their relationship was often tumultuous. Nash decided to commit her husband into McLean Hospital so he could recieve professional treatment. Nash and her husband had a son together in 1959, John Nash, Jr., who also grew up to suffer from mental illness. The couple divorced in 1963, although Nash continued to help take care of her husband. The couple was re-married 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 for those suffering from 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 the states 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, she also gave the keynote address.
Death
Alicia 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 vehicle and struck a guard rail. Both passengers were ejected from the car upon impact.
Portrayal in media
Nash was portrayed by Jennifer Connelly in the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind. For her performance as Alicia Nash she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Further reading
* A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar, 1998 ISBN 978-1451628425

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