Helen Slater is a veteran American actress who became the first big-screen heroine from DC Universe when she bagged the role of Supergirl (1984). She made a comeback to the DC World in 2015 by playing Eliza Danvers, Supergirl’s adoptive mother in The CW network’s TV show of the same name.
Born Name
Helen Rachel Slater
Nick Name
Helen
Sun Sign
Sagittarius
Born Place
Bethpage, Massapequa, New York, United States
Residence
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- New York City, New York, United States
Nationality
Education
Helen studied at Kensington-Johnson School followed by Great Neck South High School.
At the age of 8, Slater started participating in camp and school musical productions. Her mother advised her to audition for The High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan, New York City where she got in and graduated in June 1982 before the school was rechristened to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in 1984.
Helen also took voice and movement lessons at the Actor’s Movement Studio in New York City. In 2018, Slater managed to attain a college degree from Antioch University, Culver City, California.
In 2019, she enrolled in a Master’s Ph.D. program (M.A /Ph.D.) at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara to study Mythological studies and Depth Psychologies.
Occupation
Actress, Voice-Over Artist, Singer, Songwriter
Family
- Father – Gerald Slater (TV Producer)
- Mother – Alice Joan Citrin (Lawyer, Nuclear Disarmament Peace Activist)
- Siblings – David Slater (Older Brother) (Founder & CEO Slater Law & Business)
- Others – Patricia Slater (Sister-in-Law)
Manager
She is represented by –
- Christopher Black, Opus Entertainment, Los Angeles, United States
- SMS Talent Inc., Beverly Hills, California, United States
- Abrams Artists Agency
- BRS / Gage Talent Agency
Genre
Pop, Folk, World & Country
Instruments
Vocals, Piano
Labels
Landsleit Records
She has also independently released some albums.
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 8 in or 173 cm
Weight
61 kg or 134.5 lbs
Boyfriend / Spouse
She has dated –
- Robert Coit Watzke (1989–Present) – Helen married theatre actor, acclaimed editor, and director, Robert in 1990 after dating him for a year. Watzke is also an acting coach who teaches improvisation to amateur and professional actors. The couple has one daughter named Hannah Nika Watzke (b. August 1995).
Race / Ethnicity
White
She is of Eastern European Jewish descent.
Hair Color
Light Brown
She often tends to dye her hair ‘Blonde’.
Eye Color
Blue
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Tall frame and slender face
- Symmetrical facial features
- Protruding eyes
Brand Endorsements
- At the age of 15, Slater was cast in commercials for cereals and chewing gum.
- She was also cast in the TV commercials of Preference by L’Oreal (1995–1996).
- She had a brief appearance in a JP Morgan Chase TV commercial in 2017.
Religion
Judaism
Helen Slater Facts
- She shared in an interview that as a teen she was awkward and clumsy with stringy brown hair and bad posture. She was not naturally born with the grace and glamor of an actress.
- Veteran actress, is her best friend.
- In October 1982, Helen auditioned for the movie Supergirl (1984) and bagged the lead role by December after many rounds of screening including a screen test in London. She chose not to go to college wanting to go further with her career as an actress but years later took classes at NYU and UCLA to hone her craft.
- Her body weight was 115 lbs or 52 kg when she was cast as Supergirl (1984). Under the supervision of (Superman) Christopher Reeve’s personal trainer, Helen gained 20 lbs of muscle in 4 months. Her regimented schedule included swimming sessions twice a week and bodybuilding and 3 times a week. The newfound physical strength allowed her to perform some of her own stunts in the movie.
- Helen spent a day with Christopher Reeve on the streets of New York City to get advice on how to portray a super-human. He was also scheduled to make a cameo in her movie but could not due to scheduling conflict. Nevertheless, Reeve accompanied Helen to the Supergirl premiere in November 1984.
- Slater is a classically trained singer.
- Along with her friend , Helen co-founded the NYC based theatre group called the Naked Angels in 1987. She also formed 2 Los Angeles-based improvisational theatre groups called Otis Inspired and The Bubalaires.
- She played Christian Slater’s sister in The Legend of Billy Jean (1985) that led many people to falsely believe that they are siblings in real life. The two actors are not related.
Featured Image by Nightscream / / CC BY-3.0
Facts of Helen Slater
- full nameHelen Slater
- Date of Birth December 15, 1963
- Age 60 years 11 months
- Horoscope Sagittarius
- Lucky Number 10
- Lucky Stone Turquoise
- Lucky Color Orange
- Best Match for Marriage Leo, Aquarius
- weight61 kg
- height5 ft 8 in