Helen Slater

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), and Lassie (1994). 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
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's likeness was used to portray Supergirl in a CGI cameo appearance in the film The Flash (2023).

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, The 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, 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, 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.

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.