Christopher D'Olier Reeve was born September 25, 1952, in New York City, to journalist Barbara Johnson (née Barbara Pitney Lamb) and writer/professor F.D. Reeve (Franklin D'Olier Reeve). He came from an upper-class family; his paternal grandfather was CEO of Prudential Financial, and one of his maternal great-grandfathers was Supreme Court Associate Justice Mahlon Pitney.

When Reeve was four, his parents divorced. His mother moved him and his brother Benjamin to Princeton, New Jersey, and married an investment banker a few years later. After graduating from high school, Reeve studied at Cornell University while at the same time working as a professional actor. In his final year at Cornell, he was one of two students selected (Robin Williams was the other) to study at New York's famous Juilliard School, under the renowned John Houseman. Although Christopher is best known for his role as Superman (1978), a role which he played with both charisma and grace, his acting career spans a much larger ground. Paralyzed after a horse riding accident, he died suddenly at age 52 after several years of living and working with his severe disability.

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Mariel Hemingway and Christopher Reeve in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Gene Hackman and Christopher Reeve in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve in Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)

Bill Clinton, Christopher Reeve, and Hillary Clinton in Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)

Christopher Reeve in Somewhere in Time (1980)

Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve in Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)

Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Sarah Douglas, Jeff East, Margot Kidder, Jack O'Halloran, Valerie Perrine, and Susannah York in Superman (1978)

Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour in Somewhere in Time (1980)

Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp, Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, Jack O'Halloran, and Valerie Perrine in Superman II (1980)

Richard Pryor and Christopher Reeve in Superman III (1983)

Christopher Reeve

Christopher Reeve

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