Christopher Reeve

Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, activist and former sportsman. He achieved stardom for his acting achievements, in particular. He is best known for his motion picture portrayal of the classic DC comic book superhero Superman. Reeve appeared in other critically acclaimed films such as Street Smart (1987) and The Remains of the Day (1993). He received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in the television remake of Rear Window (1998). On May 27, 1995, Reeve became a quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia. He was confined to a wheelchair and required a portable ventilator for the rest of his life. He lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries and for human embryonic stem cell research, founding the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founding the Reeve-Irvine Research Center. 2Life and career 3Early life Christopher Reeve was born on September 25, 1952, in New York City, the son of Barbara Pitney (Lamb), a journalist, and Franklin D'Olier Reeve, a teacher, novelist, poet, and scholar. Reeve was of almost entirely English ancestry, with many family lines that had been in America since the early 1600