Helen Slater

Helen Slater
File:10.17.09HelenSlaterByLuigiNovi.jpg Slater at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 17, 2009
Born	Helen Rachel Slater (1963-12-15) December 15, 1963 Bethpage, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer-songwriter
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Robert Watzke (m. 1989)
Children	Hannah Nika (b. 1995)
Website	www.helenslater.com

Helen Rachel Slater (born December 15, 1963) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She appeared as the Kryptonian superheroine in TriStar's 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 was 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 film Supergirl. The film, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and including other big names 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 that 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. She portrays Supergirl's foster mother, Eliza Danvers, in the TV show 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 romcom 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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	ABC Afterschool Special	Amy Watson	Episode “Amy & the Angel”
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
	Improv Tonite	Herself	Guest host
1989	Happy Together	Alexandra Page
1990	The Great Air Race	Jacqui Cochrane	TV movie
	Capital News	Anne McKenna	TV movie
1991	City Slickers	Bonnie Rayburn
	The Hidden Room	Lauren	Episode: “Wasting Away”
1992	Seinfeld	Becky Gelke	Episode: “The Good Samaritan”
	Dream On	Sarah	Episode: "Theory of Relativity"
	Betrayal of the Dove	Ellie West
1992–1994	The Adventures of Batman & Robin	Talia (voice role)	4 episodes
1993	12:01	Lisa Fredericks	TV movie
	Chantilly Lace	Hannah	TV movie
	A House In The Hills	Alex Weaver
1994	Couples	Nina	TV movie
	Lassie	Laura Turner
	Parallel Lives	Elsa Freedman	TV movie
1995	The Steal	Kim
	No Way Back	Mary
1997	The Long Way Home	Herself	Voice role
	Caroline in the City	Cassandra Thompson	Caroline and the Monkeys
	Toothless	Katherine's Mom	TV movie
1997–1998	Michael Hayes	Julie Siegel	3 episodes
1998	Best Friends for Life	Pammy Cahill	TV movie
2000	American Adventure	Kathy	TV movie
2001	Nowhere in Sight	Carly Bauers
	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”
	Seeing Other People	Penelope
2005	Grey's Anatomy	Nadia Shelton	Episode: "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"
2006	Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall	Stella Andre	TV movie
	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”
	Eleventh Hour	Susan Wynne	Episode: “Medea”
	Greek	Dr. Magda Stephanopoulos	Episode: “Guilty Treasures”
2010	Rock the House	Diane Petersen	TV movie
	CSI: NY	Elizabeth Harris	Episode: “Do Not Pass Go”
2010–2011	Gigantic	Jennifer Brooks	10 episodes
2011	Private Practice	Erin	Episode: “Two Steps Back”
	Rock the House	Diane Petersen	TV movie
	Drop Dead Diva	Penny Brecker	Episode: “Hit and Run”
2011– 2013	The Lying Game	Kristin Mercer	Series regular
2013	The Good Mother	Cheryl Jordan	TV movie
2014	The Young and the Restless	Dr. Chiverton	Daytime drama
2015	Mad Men	Sheila	Episode: "Person to Person"
2015	Supergirl	Eliza Danvers	Recurring role (2 episodes)

Discography

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

External links

• Official website
• Helen Slater at the Internet Movie Database
• "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