Margot Kidder

Margaret Ruth Margot Kidder October 17 1948 May 13 2018 was a CanadianAmerican actress director and activist whose career spanned over five decades Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy Award Though she appeared in an array of films and television Kidder is most widely known for her performance as Lois Lane in the Superman film series appearing in the first four films Born in Yellowknife to a Canadian mother and an American father Kidder was raised in the Northwest Territories as well as several other Canadian provinces She began her acting career in the 1960s appearing in lowbudget Canadian films and television series before landing a lead role in Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx 1970 She then played twins in Brian De Palmas cult thriller Sisters 1973 a sorority student in the slasher film Black Christmas 1974 and the titular characters girlfriend in the drama The Great Waldo Pepper 1975 opposite Robert Redford In 1977 she was cast as Lois Lane in Richard Donners Superman 1978 a role which established her as a mainstream actress Her performance as Kathy Lutz in the blockbuster horror film The Amityville Horror 1979 gained her further mainstream exposure after which she went on to reprise her role as Lois Lane in Superman II III and IV 19801987 The 1990s were marked by significant health problems for Kidder In 1990 she sustained serious injuries in a car accident that left her temporarily paralyzed and she later had a highly publicized manic episode and nervous breakdown in 1996 stemming from bipolar disorder By the 2000s she maintained steady work in independent films and television with gueststarring roles on Smallville Brothers Sisters and The L Word and appeared in a 2002 OffBroadway production of The Vagina Monologues In 2015 she won a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance on the childrens television series RL Stines The Haunting Hour Margot passed away at her home in Livingston Montana at the age of 69 Her death was ruled a suicide due to a selfinflicted drug and alcohol overdose