Helen Slater

Helen Rachel Slater (born December 15, 1963) is an American actress and singer-songwriter.

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.

Her parents divorced in 1974.

She is Jewish.

She has a brother, David, who is a lawyer in New York City.

Slater attended Great Neck South High School and then transferred to the High School of Performing Arts from which she graduated in 1982.

A common misconception is that she is related to actor Christian Slater, who played her character's brother in The Legend of Billie Jean.

Slater played Supergirl in the 1984 film Supergirl.

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, 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 DC Extended Universe 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.

In 1987, Slater co-founded the New York theater group, The Naked Angels, with Gina Gershon.

In 1991, she also co-founded, with her husband, Robert Watzke, the L.A. based theater group The Bubalaires.

Slater appeared in two off-Broadway plays: "Almost Romance" and "Responsible Parties".

She also starred in "The Big Deal" at the Pasadena Playhouse.

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.

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.