Helen Slater
Helen Rachel Slater is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She played the title role in the 1984 film Supergirl, and returned to the 2015 TV series of the same name, this time as Supergirl's adoptive mother. In the intervening years, she starred in several films including The Legend of Billie Jean, Ruthless People, The Secret of My Success, and City Slickers. She additionally found work as an actress in television, and stage projects, including three guest appearances on the series Smallville. She was a series regular for the two-season run 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, to a Jewish family. Her parents, Alice Joan, a lawyer and nuclear disarmament peace activist based in New York City, and Gerald Slater, a television executive, divorced in 1974. 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. 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 in which she appeared exclusively as a brunette. In 1984, she played the title character, versus Faye Dunaway as Selena, in the TriStar release Supergirl. The film, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and including big name actors 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 Comics killing off the original Kara Zor-El version of Supergirl in 1985, though a different Supergirl, Matrix, was created by DC Comics three years later. Slater's performance was not generally blamed.In her next film, Slater was cast alongside Christian Slater and Yeardley Smith as Billie Jean Davy, a folk hero who styles herself as a modern-day Joan of Arc, in the film The Legend of Billie Jean. Next, she appeared in two high-profile comedies, Ruthless People and The Secret of My Success. More high-profile roles followed when she appeared in the independent comedy Sticky Fingers with longtime friend Melanie Mayron, City Slickers with Billy Crystal, the steamy A House in the Hills with Michael Madsen, and the action-crime drama No Way Back opposite Russell Crowe . Other noteworthy performances were seen in films including ', Betrayal of the Dove, and opposite Andy Richter in Seeing Other People.
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 ', 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 and as Supergirl's adoptive mother in the TV series 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 romantic comedy Happy Together, she sang a medley of Broadway songs as well as other songs. In the 1994 movie Lassie, she also sang. For the soundtrack of the film Nowhere In Sight, she contributed the song "The Detour."In 2003, she released a CD, 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 CD, Crossword, which used 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 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
In 2010, Slater wrote a Supergirl story titled "A Hero's Journey" which appeared in the fiftieth issue of the fifth volume of the Supergirl comic book.Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | ABC Afterschool Special | Amy Watson | Episode: "Amy & the Angel" |
| 1988 | Improv Tonite | Herself | Guest host |
| 1990 | The Great Air Race | Jacqui Cochrane | Television miniseries |
| 1990 | Capital News | Anne McKenna | Television film |
| 1991 | The Hidden Room | Lauren | Episode: "Wasting Away" |
| 1992 | Seinfeld | Becky Gelke | Uncredited; episode: "The Good Samaritan" |
| 1992 | Dream On | Sarah | Episode: "Theory of Relativity" |
| 1992–1994 | ' | Talia | "Off Balance" "The Demon's Quest, Part 1" "The Demon's Quest, Part 2" "Avatar" |
| 1993 | ' | Lisa Fredericks | Television film |
| 1993 | Chantilly Lace | Hannah | Television film |
| 1994 | Couples | Nina | Television film |
| 1994 | Parallel Lives | Elsa Freedman | Television film |
| 1997 | Caroline in the City | Cassandra Thompson | Uncredited; episode: "Caroline and the Monkeys" |
| 1997 | Toothless | Mrs. Lewis | Television film |
| 1997–1998 | Michael Hayes | Julie Siegel | 3 episodes |
| 1998 | Best Friends for Life | Pammy Cahill | Television film |
| 2000 | American Adventure | Kathy | Television film |
| 2001 | Will & Grace | Peggy Truman | Episode: "Moveable Feast" |
| 2003 | Boston Public | Mrs. McNeal | Episode: "Chapter Seventy-Four" |
| 2004 | ' | Susan Coyle | Episode: "Families" |
| 2005 | Grey's Anatomy | Nadia Shelton | Episode: "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" |
| 2006 | Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall | Stella Andre | Television film |
| 2006 | 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" |
| 2009 | Eleventh Hour | Susan Wynne | Episode: "Medea" |
| 2009 | Greek | Dr. Magda Stephanopoulos | Episode: "Guilty Treasures" |
| 2010–2011 | Gigantic | Jennifer Brooks | 10 episodes |
| 2010 | ' | Elizabeth Harris | Episode: "Do Not Pass Go" |
| 2011 | Private Practice | Erin | Episode: "Two Steps Back" |
| 2011 | Rock the House | Diane Petersen | Television film |
| 2011 | Drop Dead Diva | Penny Brecker | Episode: "Hit and Run" |
| 2011–2013 | The Lying Game | Kristin Mercer | Main cast |
| 2013 | The Good Mother | Cheryl Jordan | Television film |
| 2014 | Caper | Luke's Mom | Episode: "All Hands on Peltas" |
| 2014 | The Young and the Restless | Dr. Chiverton | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Mad Men | Sheila | Episode: "Person to Person" |
| 2015–present | Supergirl | Eliza Danvers | 11 episodes |
| 2015 | Agent X | Helen Eckhart | Episode: "Fidelity" |
| 2016 | Martha Kent | Television film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015 | DC Super Hero Girls | Martha Kent | Web series, episode: "Welcome to Super Hero High" |
Discography
- One of These Days
- Crossword
- Shine
- Myths of Ancient Greece
- The Ugly Duckling