Christopher Reeve had various stage and television roles before becoming the star of Superman and its sequels. In 1995 he became paralyzed from the neck down following a horse-riding accident.
Christopher D’Olier Reeve was born on September 25, 1952, in New York City. He studied at Cornell University and the Juilliard School in New York, before landing roles in the Broadway play A Matter of Gravity, alongside Katharine Hepburn, and the soap opera Love of Life.
The actor catapulted to stardom when, following a two-year casting search, he was selected to play the titular superhero of Superman (1978). The popularity of the film, and Reeve’s winning portrayals of the Man of Steel and his alter ego, Clark Kent, spawned the release of Superman sequels in 1980, 1983 and 1987.
Beginning in the 1980s, Reeve was an activist for environmental and human-rights causes and for artistic freedom of expression. After the accident, he lobbied for spinal injury research, including human embryonic stem cell research, and for better insurance coverage for people with disabilities. His advocacy work included leading the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and co-founding the Reeve-Irvine Research Center. Reeve died on October 10, 2004, 15 days after his 52nd birthday.
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