Christopher Reeve Biography

Christopher Reeve was born on 25 September 1952 to journalist Barbara Johnson and writer/professor Franklin D Reeve, who divorced when he was four years old.

His mother moved Christopher and his brother Benjamin to Princeton, New Jersey, where Reeve studied at Cornell University after graduating from high school. At the same time as studying, he pursued a professional acting career.

In his final year at university, he was selected alongside fellow student Robin Williams to study at New York's famous Juilliard School of Performing Arts under the renowned John Houseman.

Reeve became an overnight star when 'Superman' was released in 1978, which was his first lead role and he returned for its three sequels in 1980, 1983 and 1987. But the well-built actor met with mixed results when he tried to throw out the red and blue costume.

Having made a brief appearance in 'Gray Lady Down' (1978) before 'Superman', he went on to appear in 'Somewhere In Time'(1980), 'Deathtrap' (1982) and 'Monsignor' (1982) before being outshone in the gritty 'Street Smart' (1987).

In 1979, his long-term girlfriend Gae Exton gave birth to their son Matthew, followed by Alexandra in 1982.

Reeve turned down the lead roles in 'American Gigolo' (1980) and 'The Running Man' (1987) and instead found success in TV movies and on stage, with farcical roles in 'Switching Channels' and 'Noises Off'.

Reeve married singer Dana Morosini on 11 April 1992, after splitting from Exton in 1988. They had son Will the same year.

Tragically, he was paralysed after a horse-riding accident in 1995 - one of the last characters he had played before the accident was a paralysed man in 'Above Suspicion'.

After this, he acted in 'A Step Toward Tomorrow' in 1996 playing the paralysed son of the main character, the TV movie 'Rear Window' in 1998, an episode of 'The Practice' in 2003 and played himself in 'Smallville, which tells the story of a young superman between 2003 and 2004.

In an ongoing fight to walk again, at a cost of nearly £300,000 a year in medical bills, he announced just before his 50th birthday that he could move some of his fingers and toes.

Reeve also lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries and for human embryonic stem cell research. He also founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation, dedicated to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries, and co-founded Reeve-Irvine Research.

However, on 10 October 2004, the Superman star died from an infection as a result of a pressure wound. He suffered a heart attack at his New York home and slipped into a coma.