Dana Reeve, who battled tirelessly alongside her late husband, Superman actor Christopher Reeve, to find treatments for paralysis victims, has died. She was 44.
Reeve, a lifelong non-smoker, died in a New York hospital on Monday of lung cancer, said Kathy Lewis, president and CEO of the Christopher Reeve Foundation.
”Dana will always be remembered for her passion, strength and ceaseless courage that became her hallmark,” Lewis said in a statement.
”Along with her husband Christopher, she faced adversity with grace and determination, bringing hope to millions around the world,” she added.
The couple had one son, Will, who is now 13 and Dana is also survived by two adult step-children, Matthew and Alexandra.
An accomplished actress and singer in her own right, Reeve revealed that she was suffering from lung cancer in August last year.
The news came just 10 months after the death of her husband, who was paralysed from the neck down in a riding accident in 1995.
In the wake of that accident, the Reeves started their foundation, which was committed to finding cures and treatment for those suffering from spinal cord injuries and lobbying for stem-cell research.
Following her husband’s death in October 2004, Dana Reeve took over as chairperson of the foundation, which has awarded over $53-million in research grants for neuroscientists and more than $6-million in grants for the disabled.
”After Christopher’s death, Dana was determined to preserve the important work and the legacy of hope that became his life’s mission,” Lewis said.
”We commit ourselves to ensuring that the light of grace, courage and hopefulness that Dana embodied continues to shine bright — bringing comfort and hope to people living with paralysis and their families and caregivers,” she added.
Reeve’s singing and acting credits included appearances on television, where she had starring roles on Law and Order, Oz, and All My Children.
She was also a regular performer in plays on Broadway, off-Broadway, and at numerous regional theatres.
Reeve largely put her career on hold following her husband’s accident and will be best remembered for her campaigning on behalf of his eponymous foundation.
”Dana Reeve used the great personal challenge of her husband’s paralysis to work so that other families would not have to endure the same pain,” said Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives.
”By bringing hope to the sick and disabled with the miraculous potential of stem cell research, she has helped to continue the mending and renewing of the world that is possible through science,” Pelosi said.
Hollywood also paid its tributes, including one from comedian Robin Williams who studied drama with Christpher Reeve at the Juilliard School and was a close friend of the couple.
”The brightest light has gone out. We will forever celebrate her loving spirit,” Williams told People magazine.
Another friend, actress Jane Seymour, described Dana Reeve as ”an unflinching optimist, who never let anything get her down, and if she did she never showed us”.
Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, issued a statement praising Reeve as ”a model of tenacity and grace” who always fought for her beliefs.
”Despite the adversity that she faced, Dana bravely met these challenges and was always an extremely devoted wife, mother and advocate,” the statement said.
Christopher Reeve often credited his wife with giving him the will to live in the days immediately following his accident, when the realisation of the severity of his injury left him feeling suicidal.
”When Dana whispered those life-saving words to me, ‘You’re still you. And I love you,’ it meant more to me than just a personal declaration of faith and commitment,” Reeve once said.
”In a sense it was an affirmation that marriage and family stood at the centre of everything, and if both were intact, so was your universe,” he said. – Sapa-AFP