Helen Slater

Biography

Helen Rachel Slater (born December 15, 1963) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is best known for playing the DC Comics superheroine Supergirl in the 1984 film Supergirl, as well as appearing in films such as The Legend of Billie Jean (1985), Ruthless People (1986), The Secret of My Success (1987), City Slickers (1991), Chantilly Lace (1993), Lassie (1994), and No Way Back (1995). She provided the voice of Talia al Ghul in Batman: The Animated Series, portrayed Lara-El in Smallville, and played Eliza Danvers in the 2015 Supergirl TV series.

Early life

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.

Film and television

Beating Demi Moore and Brooke Shields, 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 did filming for the film The Flash (2023) to portray Supergirl in a de-aged cameo appearance.
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.

Stage work

In 1987, Slater co-founded the New York theater group, 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.

Music career

In 2003, she released the album, One of These Days×One of These Days2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Greenland4:392Shoes2:283Typical3:314Touch and Go3:455Love Comes In3:316One of These Days2:487Robin's Egg4:218Get Up3:319Remember Last Sunday3:5110Home1:33, 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×Crossword17 January 2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Seven Wonders/Stone Porch3:522Any Day Now2:553Crossword2:184Anymore3:365Below The Line2:216Mel's Diner (Too Soon)2:327Swizzle2:1381,000 Men2:249Amazon1:5610I Wouldn't Mind2:1611New York in June2:0012Cranberries2:50, 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. Since then, Slater has released four additional albums: Shine×Shine1 January 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Autumn2:352Real2:123Shining Star2:264Backyard1:365Tracy's Song3:436Stardust3:417Lucky2:238Coming Back For Me2:089Sandals3:4010Pieces Of Me3:0211Shine3:0912Warm Weather2:04 (2010), The Myth of Ancient Greece (2013) and The Ugly Duckling (2015), both made for children and Selkie (2019), an eleven-song concept album released as one continuous musical piece.

Writing

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.