Helen Slater | |
---|---|
Born | Helen Rachel Slater December 15, 1963 |
Occupation(s) | Actress, singer-songwriter |
Years active | 1982–present |
Spouse | Robert Watzke (m. 1989) |
Children | 1 |
Website | www |
Helen Rachel Slater (born December 15, 1963) [1] is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is best known for playing the DC Comics superheroine Supergirl in the 1984 film Supergirl , as well as appearing in films such as The Legend of Billie Jean (1985), Ruthless People (1986), The Secret of My Success (1987), City Slickers (1991), Chantilly Lace (1993), and Lassie (1994). She provided the voice of Talia al Ghul in Batman: The Animated Series , portrayed Lara-El in Smallville , and played Eliza Danvers in the 2015 Supergirl TV series.
Slater was born in Bethpage, New York to Alice Joan (née Citrin), a lawyer and nuclear disarmament peace activist based in New York City; and Gerald Slater, a television executive.[ citation needed ] Her parents divorced in 1974. [2] She is Jewish. [3] [4] [5] She has a brother, David, who is a lawyer in New York City. Slater attended Great Neck South High School [6] and then transferred to the High School of Performing Arts from which she graduated in 1982. [7]
Slater played Supergirl in the 1984 film Supergirl . [8] She has starred in several further films including The Legend of Billie Jean (1985), Ruthless People (1986), The Secret of My Success (1987), and City Slickers (1991). She has additionally found work as an actress in television and stage projects.
Following Supergirl, Slater has made multiple appearances in Superman media such as Superman's mother Lara-El in the TV series Smallville , [9] Supergirl's adoptive mother Eliza Danvers in the Supergirl TV series, and Clark Kent's adoptive mother Martha Kent in DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year and the associated film. Slater's likeness was used to portray Supergirl in a CGI cameo appearance in the film The Flash (2023).
In 1985, DC Comics included Slater as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for her work on the Supergirl film. [10]
In 1987, Slater co-founded the New York theater group, The Naked Angels , with Gina Gershon. In 1991, she also co-founded, with her husband, Robert Watzke, the L.A. based theater group The Bubalaires. [11]
Slater appeared in two off-Broadway plays: Almost Romance and Responsible Parties. She also starred in The Big Deal at the Pasadena Playhouse. [12]
In 2003, she released the album, One of These Days, consisting of her original songs. The tracks were real-time recordings with Slater singing and playing piano, accompanied by six other musicians; no multitracking, editing, or dubbing was employed. In 2005, she released a second album, Crossword, which used the same recording approach as her first album. Both albums were produced by Phillip Swann. In 2008, Cortes Alexander recorded Slater's "Any Day Now" and "Love'll Come & Do Just That" on his album Swell. [13]
In 2010, Slater wrote a Supergirl story, "A Hero's Journey", which appeared in the fiftieth issue of the fifth volume of the Supergirl comic book. [14]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | Supergirl | Kara Zor-El / Linda Lee / Supergirl | |
1985 | The Legend of Billie Jean | Billie Jean Davy | |
1986 | Ruthless People | Sandy Kessler | |
1987 | The Secret of My Success | Christy Wills | |
1988 | Sticky Fingers | Hattie | |
1989 | Happy Together | Alexandra Page | Also features singing by Slater |
1991 | City Slickers | Bonnie Rayburn | |
1993 | Betrayal of the Dove | Ellie West | |
1993 | A House in the Hills | Alex Weaver | |
1994 | Lassie | Laura Turner | Also features singing by Slater |
1995 | The Steal | Kim | |
1995 | No Way Back | Mary | |
1997 | The Long Way Home | Herself | Voice, documentary film |
1999 | Carlo's Wake | Lisa Torello | |
2001 | Nowhere in Sight | Carly Bauers | |
2004 | Seeing Other People | Penelope | |
2011 | Beautiful Wave | Jane Davenport | Direct-to-video |
2012 | Model Minority | Mrs. Ambrose | |
2014 | Echo Park | Julia | |
2015 | The Curse of Downers Grove | Diane | |
2016 | DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year | Martha Kent | Voice [18] |
2016 | A Remarkable Life | Iris |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | ABC Afterschool Special | Amy Watson | Episode: "Amy & the Angel" |
1988 | Improv Tonite | Herself | Guest host [20] |
1990 | The Great Air Race | Jacqui Cochrane | Television miniseries |
1990 | Capital News | Anne McKenna | Television film |
1991 | The Hidden Room | Lauren | Episode: "Wasting Away" [1] |
1992 | Seinfeld | Becky Gelke | Uncredited; episode: "The Good Samaritan" |
1992 | Dream On | Sarah | Episode: "Theory of Relativity" |
1992–1994 | Batman: The Animated Series | Talia al Ghul | Voice, 4 episodes |
1993 | 12:01 | Lisa Fredericks | Television film |
1993 | Chantilly Lace | Hannah | Television film |
1994 | Couples | Nina | Television film |
1994 | Parallel Lives | Elsa Freedman | Television film |
1997 | Caroline in the City | Cassandra Thompson | Uncredited; episode: "Caroline and the Monkeys" |
1997 | Toothless | Mrs. Lewis | Television film |
1997–1998 | Michael Hayes | Julie Siegel | 3 episodes |
1998 | Best Friends for Life | Pammy Cahill | Television film |
2000 | American Adventure | Kathy | Pilot [1] |
2001 | Will & Grace | Peggy Truman | Episode: "Moveable Feast" |
2003 | Boston Public | Mrs. McNeal | Episode: "Chapter Seventy-Four" |
2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Susan Coyle | Episode: "Families" |
2005 | Grey's Anatomy | Nadia Shelton | Episode: "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" |
2006 | Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall | Stella Andre | Television film |
2006 | The New Adventures of Old Christine | Liz | Episode: “Teach Your Children Well” |
2007 | Crossing Jordan | Elaine Tallridge | Episode: "Seven Feet Under" |
2007–2010 | Smallville | Lara-El | 3 episodes |
2009 | Supernatural | Susan Carter | Episode: "Family Remains" |
2009 | Eleventh Hour | Susan Wynne | Episode: "Medea" |
2009 | Greek | Dr. Magda Stephanopoulos | Episode: "Guilty Treasures" |
2010–2011 | Gigantic | Jennifer Brooks | 10 episodes |
2010 | CSI: NY | Elizabeth Harris | Episode: "Do Not Pass Go" |
2011 | Private Practice | Erin | Episode: "Two Steps Back" |
2011 | Rock the House | Diane Petersen | Television film |
2011 | Drop Dead Diva | Penny Brecker | Episode: "Hit and Run" |
2011–2013 | The Lying Game | Kristin Mercer | Main cast |
2013 | The Good Mother | Cheryl Jordan | Television film |
2014 | Caper | Luke's Mom | Episode: "All Hands on Peltas". YouTube and Hulu series. [21] |
2014 | The Young and the Restless | Dr. Chiverton | 4 episodes [22] |
2015 | Mad Men | Sheila | Episode: "Person to Person" |
2015–2021 | Supergirl | Eliza Danvers | 13 episodes |
2015 | Agent X | Helen Eckhart | Episode: "Fidelity" |
2016 | DC Super Hero Girls: Super Hero High | Martha Kent | Voice, television film [18] |
2023 | Chantilly Bridge | Television film |
Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous radiation that can weaken and even kill Kryptonians. Kryptonite radiation can be transmitted through any element except lead. Thus, Superman has a special lead suit to protect himself from the radiation. There are other varieties of kryptonite, such as red and gold kryptonite, which have different but still generally negative effects.
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her first appearance in Action Comics #252 and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.
Smallville is a fictional town in American comic books published by DC Comics. The childhood hometown of Superman, Smallville was first named in Superboy #2. The town, long in an unnamed US state that was first defined as Kansas in Superman: The Movie (1978), is the setting of many Superboy comics where Superboy defends Smallville from various threats. Since the 1978 appearance in Superman: The Movie, Smallville has been a setting in other non-comic book productions featuring Superboy / Superman.
Lana Lang is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most often associated with Superman.
Supergirl is a 1984 superhero film directed by Jeannot Szwarc from a screenplay by David Odell based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It is the fourth film in the Superman film series, set after the events of Superman III (1983) and serving as a spin-off of the series. The film stars Helen Slater as Supergirl, along with Faye Dunaway, Hart Bochner, Peter Cook, Mia Farrow, Brenda Vaccaro, and Peter O'Toole, with Marc McClure reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen from the Superman films.
Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent are fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are the adoptive parents of Superman, and live in the rural town of Smallville, Kansas. In most versions of Superman's origin story, Jonathan and Martha find Kal-El as an infant after he crash-lands on Earth following the destruction of his home planet, Krypton. They adopt him shortly thereafter, renaming him Clark Kent, "Clark" being Martha's maiden name.
Linda Danvers, also known as Supergirl, is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Peter David and artist Gary Frank, she debuted in Supergirl #1. She is not to be confused with Linda Lee Danvers, the secret identity used by the Kara Zor-El incarnation of Supergirl prior to the events of 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Livewire is a supervillainess appearing in multimedia produced by DC Entertainment, and American comic books published by DC Comics. Created for Superman: The Animated Series, the character appeared in March 1997 in Superman Adventures #5. Her first mainstream comic book appearance was in DC Comics' Action Comics #835.
Lara is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Lara first appeared in the Superman newspaper comic strip in 1939. Lara is the biological mother of Superman, and the wife of scientist Jor-El. Lara Lor-Van is Lara's full maiden name, as "Lor-Van" is the name of Lara's father. Most depictions of Kryptonian culture show that Kryptonian women use their father's full name as their last names before marriage. After marriage, they usually are known simply by their first names, though various versions show they use their husband's full name or last name as their married last name.
Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) also known by her adoptive names of Linda Lee Danvers, Kara Kent, Linda Lang, and Kara Danvers, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Otto Binder and designed by Al Plastino. Danvers first appeared in the story "The Supergirl from Krypton" in Action Comics #252. Kara is the biological cousin of Kal-El, who went on to adopt the name of Clark Kent and the superhero identity Superman. Her father, Zor-El, is the brother of Superman's father, Jor-El. During the 1980s and the revolution of the Modern Age of Comics, Superman editors believed the character's history had become too convoluted, thus killing Supergirl during the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and retconning her out of existence.
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Supergirl is the name of seven comic book series published by DC Comics, featuring various characters of the same name. The majority of the titles feature Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El.
The fictional superheroine Supergirl has been adapted into pop culture several times since 1984. This includes a feature film and several animated and live-action television programs.
Supergirl is an American superhero drama television series developed by Ali Adler, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg that aired on CBS and later The CW from October 26, 2015, to November 9, 2021. It is based on the DC Comics character of the same name created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino. The series features Melissa Benoist in the title role. Supergirl is a costumed superheroine who is Superman's cousin and one of the last surviving Kryptonians from the planet Krypton. Part of the Arrowverse, it was initially set on a different Earth than that of the other television series of the franchise. During the show's fifth season, all the Earths of the Arrowverse were combined.
The second season of the American television series Supergirl, which is based on the DC Comics character Supergirl / Kara Zor-El, a costumed superheroine who is the cousin to Superman and one of the last surviving Kryptonians.
"Elseworlds" is the fifth Arrowverse crossover event that features episodes of the television series The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl on The CW. The crossover event began on December 9, 2018, with The Flash, continued on Arrow on December 10, and concluded on Supergirl on December 11. "Elseworlds" introduces the characters Batwoman and Lois Lane, and the fictional Gotham City, to the universe. In the crossover, Green Arrow, Flash, and Supergirl, the former two having had their powers and lives switched, are drawn to Gotham City to confront Dr. John Deegan over his work at Arkham Asylum.
Clark Kent, also known by his birth name Kal-El or superhero alias Superman, is a fictional character and a superhero in the 2021 The CW television series Superman & Lois; originally developed as a part of the Arrowverse franchise of television series, first mentioned in the 2015 pilot of Supergirl, based on the character of the same name created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and adapted for television by Glen Winter, Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing from the previous Arrowverse adaptation of the character by Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Jessica Queller. Clark Kent had been portrayed by Tyler Hoechlin in the Arrowverse since 2016 prior to the development of Superman & Lois as a spin-off of Supergirl, in which Hoechlin reprised his role as co-headliner, initially said to be playing the same incarnation of Superman he had played in Supergirl, before the series was retroactively established to be set in its own continuity, on an Earth other from Earth-Prime, in its second season finale.
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