Farewell to Lois Lane ... Superman star who battled to beat drink and drugs
MARGOT Kidder, who played Lois Lane in the Superman films, has died aged 69.
Her sassy performance as the determined reporter who wins the superhero’s heart made her an international star.
But her life was marred by ill health and what appeared to many to be a tragic decline from her 1970s peak.
The actress admitted that she ‘ selfmedicated’ with cocaine and alcohol in an attempt to disguise her neuroses, and she was belatedly diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
By that point, in 1996, she had become a wretched shadow of the beautiful, vigorous character that made her name.
Her battle with the condition was so intense that she ended up living on the streets in Los Angeles after a breakdown, which on one occasion led her to disappear for four days.
Kidder was eventually found in a resident’s back garden – with her front teeth knocked out – and was taken to hospital in a manic state by police. She was later placed into psychiatric care.
Once she had recovered, her experience led to her becoming a mental health advocate and she used her public profile to raise awareness about bipolar disorder as well as alternative medicine.
Kidder’s tragic story echoed that of Christopher Reeve, whose depiction of Clark Kent/Superman was a perfect foil for the actress on the silver screen.
Reeve was paralysed in a riding accident in 1995, and died in 2004.
Kidder, who remained close to her co-star until his death, said of him: ‘When you’re strapped to someone hanging from the ceiling for months and months, you get pretty darned close.
‘He was such a huge part of my life. He was complicated, very smart, really smart, and he knew he’d done something meaningful. He was very aware of that and very happy with that role.’
Kidder died on Sunday at her home in the US town of Livingston, Montana.
Her manager, Camilla Fluxman Pines, said Kidder died peacefully in her sleep. No cause of death or other details were given.
The Canadian-born star began her career in the 1960s performing in Canadian films and TV shows before landing a role in hit comedy film Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx opposite Gene Wilder in 1970.
Another early role was in the critically acclaimed The Great Waldo Pepper with Robert Redford in 1975.
After finding fame in Superman in 1978, Kidder won the lead role as Kathy Lutz in The Amityville Horror in 1979.
She appeared in three more Superman films with Reeve, the last being Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987.
Kidder also carved out a lucrative TV career, which included performing alongside Peter O’Toole in a 1983 TV production of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion as well as parts in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
She starred in The Vagina Monologues on Broadway and even returned to the Superman franchise when she appeared as Brigette Intrepid: Kidder as newspaper reporter
Lois Lane, and kissing Superman Crosby in two episodes of for her performance in R L Stine’s prequel Smallville alongside The Haunting Hour. Reeve. In 2015, Kidder won an She also appeared in The Neighbourhood, Emmy award for outstanding performer which came out earlier in children’s programming this year, and was still working up until her death. She dated former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, directors Brian De Palma and Steven Spielberg and actor Richard Pryor.
Kidder, who was married three times, is survived by her daughter Maggie, 41, whom she had with her first husband, the American novelist nov Thomas McGuane. Kidder der and McGuane divorced in 1977 after three years together. She married The Sopranos actor John Heard in 1979, though the marr marriage only lasted six days. Her third marriage was to the French film director Philippe de Broca, from 1983 to 1984. She remained single for the rest of her life.
Kidder, who became an American citizen in 2005, was also a prominent political activist, campaigning against the Gulf War, energy fracking and in support of Democrat Bernie Sanders in the 2016 US presidential election.
‘Such a huge part of my life’