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, 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] Since then, Slater has released three additional albums: The Myth of Ancient Greece (2013) and The Ugly Duckling (2015), both made for children and Selkie (2019), an eleven-song concept album released as one continuous musical piece. [14]
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. [15]
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 [19] |
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 [21] |
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. [22] |
2014 | The Young and the Restless | Dr. Chiverton | 4 episodes [23] |
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 [19] |
2023 | Chantilly Bridge | Television film |
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.
Lana Lang is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Lana is a supporting character of Superman, a childhood friend and love interest of the young Clark Kent. She was created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, and first appeared in Superboy #10. The character has occasionally gained superhuman powers and assumes the superhero identities of Insect Queen and Superwoman.
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 supervillain 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.
Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) also known by her adoptive names of Linda Lee, 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.
Roulette is a supervillain in the DC Comics universe.
Lena Luthor is the name of two fictional comic book characters in DC Comics. The first one, introduced in 1961, is the sister of Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor, while the second one, introduced in 2000, is Lex Luthor's daughter who is named after her aunt.
Catherine Jane "Cat" Grant is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was played by Tracy Scoggins in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Calista Flockhart in the Arrowverse television series Supergirl.
The Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO) is a government agency in the DC Universe appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was co-created by Dan Curtis Johnson and J. H. Williams III and first appeared in Batman #550 (1998). The agency was the focus of the Chase series. It is featured in the Supergirl television series. The agency has a complicated relationship with the depiction of law and constitutional rights in the DC Universe.
The seventh season of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 27, 2007. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The seventh season comprises 20 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 15, 2008, marking the second season to air on The CW television network. Regular cast members during season seven include Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Allison Mack, Erica Durance, Aaron Ashmore, Laura Vandervoort, and John Glover. In addition to bringing in new regular cast members this season, the Smallville team brought in familiar faces from the Superman media history, old villains from the show's past, as well as new DC Comics characters Kara Zor-El and Dinah Lance.
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. Based on the DC Comics character created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, the series follows Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin, and one of the last surviving Kryptonians from the planet Krypton.
The first 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.
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 Joseph 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.
Kara Danvers, also known as Kara Zor-El on her homeworld, is a fictional character in the Arrowverse franchise, mainly the television series Supergirl. Adapted for television by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg, the character is based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El (Supergirl), created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino. Kara is introduced in the pilot episode as the adopted younger sister of Alex Danvers. Kara Danvers is portrayed by Melissa Benoist as an adult, and Malina Weissman and Izabela Vidovic as a teenager. After her planet, Krypton, was destroyed, Kara and her cousin Superman came to Earth. There she became the adopted sister of Alex Danvers and, later, after deciding to use her powers to help others under the persona of Supergirl, she discovers that her sister is part of the Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO), a massive underground anti-alien organization secretly under the control of the Martian Manhunter. She is a friend and frequent ally of the superhero speedster the Flash and vigilante archer Green Arrow.
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