Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Born
Christopher D’Olier Reeve
September 25, 1952(1952-09-25)
New York City, U.S.
Died
October 10, 2004 (aged 52)
Mount Kisco, New York, U.S.
Occupation Actor, Director, Producer,
Screenwriter
Years
active
1973–2004
Spouse(s)
Dana Reeve (1992–2004, his
death)
Official website
Christopher D’Olier Reeve[1] (September
25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an Americ-
an actor, director, producer, and writer. He
established himself early as a Juilliard-
trained stage actor before portraying Super-
man in four films, from 1978 to 1987.
On May 27, 1995, Christopher Reeve was
paralyzed in an accident during the cross
country portion of an Eventing competition,
located in Culpeper, Virginia and required a
wheelchair for completing daily tasks. He
lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord
injuries, and for human embryonic stem cell
research after this accident. He founded the
Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-foun-
ded the Reeve-Irvine Research Center. Reeve
died at age 52 on October 10, 2004, from car-
diac arrest caused by a systemic infection.[2]
Reeve married Dana Morosini in April
1992, and they had a son, William, born that
June. Reeve also had two children, Matthew
(born 1979) and Alexandra (born 1982), from
his previous relationship with girlfriend Gae
Exton. Dana Reeve died of lung cancer in
March 2006.[3]
Early life
Christopher D’Olier Reeve was born in New
York City on September 25, 1952. His father,
Franklin D’Olier Reeve, was a teacher, novel-
ist,
poet
and
scholar.[4] A Princeton
University graduate, Franklin was studying
for a master’s degree in Russian language at
Columbia University prior to the birth of his
son, Christopher. Franklin’s father, Colonel
Richard Henry Reeve, had been the CEO of
Prudential Financial
for over twenty-five
years. Despite being born wealthy, Franklin
spent summers working at the docks with
longshoremen. Reeve’s mother, Barbara Pit-
ney Lamb, a journalist, had been a student at
Vassar College, but transferred to Barnard
College to be closer to F