Christopher Reeve was know by millions around the world for his role as Superman, yet to his children, he was Dad.
The late US actor, who embodied the ‘Man of Steel’ in his onscreen costume and through his philanthropic endeavours, had three children – Matthew, Alexandra and William.
Reeves died in 2004 from heart failure at age 52. Since 1995, he lived with a disability after a fall from a horse left him paralysed from the neck down.
Here is a look at the family life of Reeve, the man without a cape.
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Reeve was near the height of his fame when he became a father the first time.
It was 1979 and the actor had just finished Superman and was in London working on the film Somewhere in Time with actress Jane Seymour.
Reeve and Seymour were secretly involved, a fact the Dr Quinn Medicine Woman star revealed decades later in 2022.
Reeve had been in a relationship with modelling executive Gae Exton but had parted ways. Yet, when Exton revealed she was pregnant, Reeve returned to her.
He had first met Exton at a food stop at Pinewood Studios. He was still dressed in as Superman and accidentally stepped on her toe.
Matthew Reeve
The couple welcomed Matthew, born in London, in 1979.
Matthew followed his father’s footsteps into the film industry, though, unlike his father, he is behind the camera working as a writer, producer and director.
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He narrated the Emmy nominated documentary Christopher Reeve: Hope in Motion.
He is best known for his work on Providence, Agent Hamilton (2020) and The Land That Never Was, according to his IMDb page.
More recently, Matthew was involved in another documentary about his late father – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, which is due for release in September.
“We said goodbye, he gave this wave,” Matthew says in a new film trailer, referring to the last time he saw his father before his riding accident.
“That was the last time I saw him on his feet.”
Alexandra Reeve
Reeves and Exton welcomed their second child together in London in 1983.
Alexandra – who is also involved in the documentary on her father – did not follow the Hollywood path, but focused on her education.
She attended Yale University and graduated with a law degree from Columbia University.
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She has worked for the United States Senate as a chief counsel and is the president and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology.
Alexandra said her father’s love for acting and film was unchanged by his accident.
“He was dedicated to his craft, of course, before the accident, but also after being able to return to acting and directing and showing that a disability wouldn’t hold him back,” she said during the panel at Sundance.
“So that legacy of what it is to care about your career and keep moving even after overwhelming obstacles is one key part of it.”
She said another part was his life as an advocate.
“He was an activist again before the injury. And then after the injury, of course, he became known around the world for his advocacy, for medical research and for disability rights,” she said.
After 10 years together, Reeve and Exton’s relationship reportedly amicably broke down.
Exton remained in the UK with the couple’s children while Reeve returned to America. The children spent time with Reeve on holidays.
Will Reeve
Reeve met his future wife, US singer and actress, Dana Morosini, in 1987.
They moved in together in 1991 and as Reeve was reportedly terrified of marriage owing to his parents’ divorce he attended therapy ahead of his marriage to Dana in 1992.
Reeve welcomed his third child and the couple’s first child, Will, in June 1992.
Will went to university and works as a broadcast journalist. He is a correspondent for ABC News in the US.
“We shared a very deep bond in general, but sports was definitely a major component of our family bond,” Will told People in 2015.
“If it involved a ball or a stick or a racket or a bat or a puck, we were either watching it or playing it or talking about it together.”
In 2004 the Reeve children lost their father when he died at age 52.
His cause of death was heart failure, however, since 1995 he had lived with a disability after a fall during an equestrian competition left him paralysed from the neck down.
Two years later, in 2006, Will would sadly lose his mother, Dana, to cancer.
As well as each of Reeve’s children participating in the documentary, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, they are also on the board of directors for the Christoper & Dana Reeve Foundation.
The Reeves founded the charity to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.
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