NEW YORK - John Nash, the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician whose life and struggles with schizophrenia were the subject of the Oscar-winning movie A Beautiful Mind, has died in a car crash, US police confirmed Sunday.
Nash was lauded as one of the foremost mathematicians of the 20th century.
Nash and his wife Alicia attended the 74th annual Academy Awards, in Los Angeles, in 2002, where 'A Beautiful Mind' won the Oscar for best picture of 2001.
"John's remarkable achievements inspired generations of mathematicians, economists and scientists who were influenced by his brilliant, groundbreaking work in game theory," Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber said.
New Jersey police told dpa that both Nash, 86, and his wife, Alicia, 82, were killed after a car crash.
They were in a taxi traveling along the New Jersey Turnpike when the driver lost control, reported the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Police said the couple was ejected from the car, which has led to speculation they were not wearing seatbelts.
Nash was on his way home from the airport after returning from a trip to Norway, where he had accepted the Abel Prize, which is given for achievements in mathematics.
Nash and fellow mathematician Louis Nirenberg received the prize "for striking and seminal contributions to the theory of nonlinear partial differential equations and its applications to geometric analysis," the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters said, calling the men "mathematical giants of the 20th century."
That work was seen by many mathematicians as his most significant, but Nash was best known for his work in game theory and won the 1994 Nobel economics prize along with colleagues Reinhard Selten and John Harsanyi.
The Nobel committee pointed to the widespread use of game theory in analysing economic issues and noted the importance of Nash's work on the difference between cooperative games and non-cooperative games that became known as the Nash equilibrium.
However, his struggles with schizophrenia that inspired A Beautiful Mind provided him with an even wider measure of fame. The film won four Oscars in 2002, including best picture.
Describing his mental health struggles after being awarded the Nobel Prize, Nash recalled numerous months-long involuntary hospitalizations with periods of clarity in between in which he was able to produce research.
His mental health struggles and the role of his wife, Alicia, were at the centre of the film.
"The story of his life with Alicia moved millions of readers and moviegoers who marveled at their courage in the face of daunting challenges," Princeton's Eisgruber noted.
Russell Crowe, who portrayed Nash in the film, wrote on Twitter: "Stunned...my heart goes out to John & Alicia & family. An amazing partnership. Beautiful minds, beautiful hearts."
Nash was born on June 13, 1928, in Bluefield, West Virginia, a small town in the Appalachians. He spent most of his academic career at Princeton University in New Jersey and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.