Helen Slater

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Helen Slater
Born	Helen Rachel Slater (1963-12-15) December 15, 1963 Bethpage, New York, U.S.
Occupations	Actress, singer-songwriter
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Robert Watzke ​ (m. 1989)​
Children	1/2
Website	www.helenslater.com

Helen Rachel Slater (born December 15, 1963) is an American actress and singer, and songwriter. She appeared as the Kryptonian superheroine in the 1984 film Supergirl. In the following years, she starred in several successful comedy-drama films such as Ruthless People (1986), The Secret of My Success (1987), and City Slickers (1991). She additionally found work as an actress in television, and stage projects, including three guest appearances on the series Smallville (2007–2010). She was a series regular for the two-season run (2011–2013) on the ABC Family series The Lying Game.

In the 2000s, Slater recorded five albums, singing her own compositions and playing the piano.

Early life

Slater was born in Bethpage, New York, the daughter of Alice Joan (née Citrin), a lawyer and nuclear disarmament peace activist based in New York City, and Gerald Slater, a television executive; they divorced in 1974. She has a brother, David, who is a lawyer in New York City. Her family is Jewish. Slater attended Great Neck South High School and then transferred to the High School of Performing Arts from which she graduated in 1982. Despite common misconception, she is not related to actor Christian Slater, who played her brother in The Legend of Billie Jean.

Film and television work

Slater made her acting debut in the ABC Afterschool Special Amy & the Angel, aired in 1982, alongside James Earl Jones, Meg Ryan, and Matthew Modine. This was also the only film she appeared in exclusively as a brunette. In 1984, she played the title character, versus Faye Dunaway as Selena, in the TriStar film Supergirl. The film, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and including big name actors like Mia Farrow and Peter O'Toole, received mixed reviews, and was not a box-office success. The film was cited as a reason for publisher DC killing off the original comics character (Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)) in 1985, though a new "Supergirl" soon appeared. Slater's performance was not generally blamed. The film eventually gained a cult following.

In her next film, Slater was cast alongside Christian Slater and Yeardley Smith as Billie Jean Davy, a folk hero who styles herself as a modern-day Joan of Arc, in the film The Legend of Billie Jean (1985). Next, she appeared in two high-profile comedies, Ruthless People (1986) and The Secret of My Success (1987). More high-profile roles followed when she appeared in the cult classic independent comedy Sticky Fingers (1988) with longtime friend Melanie Mayron, City Slickers (1991) with Billy Crystal, the steamy A House in the Hills (1993) with Michael Madsen, and the action-crime drama No Way Back opposite Russell Crowe (1996). Other noteworthy performances were seen in films including 12:01 (1993), Betrayal of the Dove, and opposite Andy Richter in Seeing Other People (2004).

Slater has appeared on episodes of various television series, including The New Adventures of Old Christine, Supernatural, four episodes as the voice of Talia in Batman: The Animated Series, and others. She was a series regular on the half-season run of the 1990 ABC newsroom drama Capital News and the 2011–2013 two season run of the ABC Family series The Lying Game.

During her career, Slater has revisited her 1984 role of Supergirl. She made a brief guest appearance on Seinfeld as a love interest of Jerry Seinfeld, who in reality is a huge fan of Superman. Slater was seen in a recurring role as Clark Kent's biological mother, Lara, on the TV series Smallville and as Supergirl's adoptive mother in the recent TV series Supergirl.

Slater was a spokeswoman for Preference by L'Oréal in both television and print ads.

Stage work

Slater co-founded the New York theater group, The Naked Angels, with Gina Gershon. Her stage credits include appearances in Grease and Shakespeare and Friends. Off-Broadway, she starred in Responsible Parties and Almost Romance. She also attended classes at both N.Y.U. and U.C.L.A., to broaden her acting abilities.

Musical career

Slater has stated that she pursued musical efforts even before doing movies. In the 1989 Patrick Dempsey romantic comedy Happy Together, she sang a medley of Broadway songs as well other songs. In the 1994 movie Lassie, she also sang. For the soundtrack of the film Nowhere In Sight (2000), she contributed the song "The Detour".

In 2003, she released a CD, One of These Days, consisting of her original songs. Notably, the tracks were real-time recordings with Slater singing and playing piano, plus six other musicians total; no multitracking, editing, or dubbing were employed. In 2005, she released a second CD, Crossword, using the same recording approach as the first CD. Both albums were produced by Phil Swann. In 2008 Cortes Alexander recorded Slater's "Any Day Now" and "Love'll Come & Do Just That" on his album Swell. Her third album, Shine, was released in late 2010.

Awards

In 1985, DC Comics named 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.

Writing

Slater wrote a day in the life of Supergirl tale entitled "A Hero's Journey" which appeared in the 50th issue of the Supergirl comic book.

Personal life

She married filmmaker Robert Watzke in September 1989. Their daughter, Hannah Nika, was born August 28, 1995.

Filmography

Film

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
1991	City Slickers	Bonnie Rayburn
1992	Betrayal of the Dove	Ellie West
1993	A House in the Hills	Alex Weaver
1994	Lassie	Laura Turner
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
2008	Sock Puppet Inferno!	Hansha	Short film
2011	Beautiful Wave	Jane Davenport
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)	Direct to video
2016	A Remarkable Life	Iris

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	ABC Afterschool Special	Amy Watson	Episode: "Amy & the Angel"
1988	Improv Tonite	Herself	Guest host
1990	The Great Air Race	Jacqui Cochrane	Television miniseries
1990	Capital News	Anne McKenna	Television film
1991	The Hidden Room	Lauren	Episode: "Wasting Away"
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	Television film
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"
2014	The Young and the Restless	Dr. Chiverton	4 episodes
2015	Mad Men	Sheila	Episode: "Person to Person"
2015–present	Supergirl	Eliza Danvers	5 episodes
2015	Agent X	Helen Eckhart	Episode: "Fidelity"
2016	DC Super Hero Girls: Super Hero High	Martha Kent (voice)	Television film

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015	DC Super Hero Girls	Martha Kent (voice)	Web series, episode: "Welcome to Super Hero High"

Discography

• One of These Days (2003)
• Crossword (2005)
• Shine (2010)
• Myths of Ancient Greece (2013)
• The Ugly Duckling (2015)

External links

• Official website
• Template:Str rightmost/ Helen Slater on IMDb
• "My Dinner with Supergirl", People magazine, December 3, 1984, Vol. 22 No. 23; interview with Helen Slater, on newsstands during Supergirl's U.S. release.
• Helen Slater Interactive Home Page defunct fan page through Archive [1] most recent archived version