“Superman” Star Margot Kidder Dies at 69
Actress Margot Kidder, best known for her iconic role as newspaper reporter Lois Lane in the 1978 film Superman and its sequels, has died.
The actress’ manager says Kidder died peacefully in her sleep Sunday at her home near Livingston, Montana.
Superman director Richard Donner cast the raspy-voiced Kidder as Lane after seeing her in the James Garner Western TV series Nichols, which she appeared on from 1971-72.
“She was charming and very funny. When I met her in the casting office, she tripped coming in and I just fell in love with her. It was perfect, this clumsy [behavior],” he told The Hollywood Reporter two years ago.
Kidder said her relationship with Christopher Reeve, who died in 2004, was more like a brother and sister, despite the onscreen romance of their characters.
“It made it easier, because we could be really quite close and we could say anything – and did – to each other the way you can with a brother or sister.”
Born in Canada’s Northwest Territories, Kidder made her professional acting debut on the TV series Wojeck in 1969. After moving to Los Angeles, Kidder was cast on shows such as McQueen and Mod Squad and also starred in 1979’s The Amityville Horror.
Kidder had lived in a log cabin near Livingston for decades. In addition to promoting mental health issues, she also was an outspoken anti-war and environmental activist.