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.