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Helen Slater

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Helen Slater
Slater at the October 17, 2009 Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, New York City, New York
Born
Helen Rachel Slater

(1963-12-15) December 15, 1963 (age 61)
Bethpage, New York, US
Occupation(s)Actress, singer-songwriter
Years active1982–present
Spouse
Robert Watzke
​
(m. 1989)​
Children1
Websitewww.helenslater.com

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.

Early life

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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]

Career

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Film and television

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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]

Stage work

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Slater in 2016

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]

Music career

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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]

Writing

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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]

Filmography

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Film[16][17][18]
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
Television [20][16][18][17]
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

Discography

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  • One of These Days (2003)
  • Crossword (2005)
  • The Myth of Ancient Greece (2013)
  • The Ugly Duckling (2015)
  • Selkie (2019)

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Helen Slater". Encyclopedia.com. Cengage. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Helen Slater Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  3. ^ Halutz, Avshalom (December 11, 2013). "Supermensch: Jewish actors save the world". Haaretz. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Celebrities : Avi Arad". Jewish United Fund. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "Jews in the News: Gal Gadot, Scarlett Johansson and Billy Crystal". jewishtampa.com. Tampa JCCs and Federation.
  6. ^ Gelder, Lawrence Van (1985-03-03). "Long Islanders; a 'supergirl' Continues to Live up to the Title". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  7. ^ Clark, Krystal (2015-01-22). "Exclusive: Helen Slater reveals how she became the 1st Supergirl, talks CBS reboot". Syfy. Archived from the original on 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  8. ^ Pantozzi, Jill (2009-12-07). "Helen Slater is Still "Super"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  9. ^ "60 SECONDS: Helen Slater". Metro. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  10. ^ Marx, Barry, Joey Cavalieri and Thomas Hill (w), Petruccio, Steven (a), Marx, Barry (ed). "Helen Slater Supergirl Comes to Film" Fifty Who Made DC Great, p. 51 (1985). DC Comics.
  11. ^ "Overview for Helen Slater". TCM. 2018-11-05. Archived from the original on 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  12. ^ "Photo Flash: Helen Slater Attends Closing Night of "Invincible, The Legend of Billie Jean"". BroadwayWorld. 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  13. ^ Saporito, Joseph R. (March 18, 2009). "Cortés Alexander, Thou 'Swell'". qmetropolis.com.
  14. ^ "Helen Slater | Original Music Compositions and Recordings". helenslater.com.
  15. ^ "Supergirl #50". comics.org. Grand Comics Database.
  16. ^ a b "Helen Slater | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  17. ^ a b "Helen Slater Filmography". BFI.co.uk. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  18. ^ a b "Helen Slater". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  19. ^ a b "Helen Slater". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  20. ^ "Helen Slater". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  21. ^ "Improv Tonite. S3, E4: Helen Slater, Tim Bedore, Rob Schneider, Paula Poundstone". Apple TV. 25 July 1988. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  22. ^ "All Hands on Peltas: Caper | Chapter 8". YouTube. 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  23. ^ "Exclusive: Helen Slater Joins The Young and the Restless". TV Guide. 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
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