Margot Kidder, the actress who played Lois Lane in the 1978 Superman film and its three sequels, has died . The Canadian-American actress and activist passed away at her home in Montana on Sunday, May 13, according to TMZ . Kidder was 69-years-old at the time of her death. A rep for the late actress told Express.co.uk that Margot “died peacefully in her sleep.”
Margot Kidder was best known for her co-starring role opposite Christopher Reeve in the hit film Superman , but she had a steady acting career up until her death. Kidder, who began acting in 1968 in the TV series, Wojeck, got her big break in Brian DePalma’s 1973 movie, Sisters, in which she played Siamese twins . She went on to more mainstream movie success playing Kathy Lutz in the 1979 big screen blockbuster, The Amityville Horror.
In addition to her four Superman movies opposite Reeve, Margot’s acting resume includes television and stage roles, including guest roles on hit TV dramas, Smallville and Brothers & Sisters, and more recent roles in the movies, The Red Maple Leaf and The Robber’s Roost. In 2015, Margot Kidder won an Emmy Award for performance on the children’s TV series, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour .
Margot Kidder, the actress best know for playing Lois Lane in the original #Superman films opposite Christopher Reeve, died on Sunday https://t.co/STE2c1OT5P pic.twitter.com/Qbb41Omceq
— Variety (@Variety) May 14, 2018
Margot Kidder also made headlines for her battle with bipolar disorder, and she was briefly homeless in the mid-1990s during a manic episode. Kidder later became a mental health advocate after she was found hiding in the bushes in 1996 after wandering the streets of Los Angeles. At the time, Kidder’s manager, John Blake, told police the actress had been scheduled to fly from Los Angeles to Arizona to teach a class, but she failed to show up at the airport so he filed a missing person report. Police later responded to a call about a woman hiding behind a home, and Kidder was later identified and described as “dirty, frightened and paranoid,” according to the Independent.
Margot Kidder worked hard to be remembered more for her acting than her mental health issues. In 2016, she told Vulturehound she liked all forms of acting but was the most confident as an actress when working on films.
“I feel most confident in movies because you have time to correct things you’ve made mistakes in, and stage I had to get over years of really bad stage fright to enjoy it as I do now,” Margot said.
A familiar face at fan fests, Margot Kidder was supposed to appear at Motor City Comic Con in Detroit this coming weekend. Kidder is survived by one daughter, Maggie McGuane.
