Dana Charles Reeve (née Morosini; March 17, 1961 – March 6, 2006) was an American actress, singer, and activist for disability causes. She was the wife of actor

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film ''Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, ...

and mother of television reporter and anchor Will Reeve.

Early life and family

Reeve was born in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

, to Charles

Morosini Morosini is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Morosini family *Piermario Morosini (1986–2012), Italian footballer * Sergio Rossetti Morosini (1953– ), New York author, painter, sculptor and independent filmmaker, ha ...

(died 2018), a

cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular hear ...

, and Helen Simpson Morosini (died 2005). She was of Italian descent. She grew up in the town of

Greenburgh, New York Greenburgh is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in western Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York. The population was 95,397 at the time of the 2020 census. History Greenburgh developed along ...

, where she graduated from

Edgemont High School Edgemont may refer to: Places Canada *Edgemont, Calgary, a large suburban neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta *Edgemont, Edmonton, a neighbourhood in Edmonton, Alberta * Calgary-Edgemont, a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada United State ...

in 1979. She graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in English Literature from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

in 1984. In 2004 she and husband, Christopher Reeve, received honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters from Middlebury. She spent the junior year of her studies at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

in London. In 1984, she pursued additional graduate studies in acting at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

in Valencia, California. She married actor

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...

, on April 11, 1992, and they had a son, William Elliot "Will" Reeve, born on June 7, 1992. Will now reports for

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

. Reeve loved to ride horses. In 2005, she told

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...

: "I rode my whole life, and after Chris had his accident, I stopped riding, primarily because he loved it so much, and I think it really would have been painful for him if I was going off riding and he wasn't able to. And it didn't mean that much to me to drop."

Show business career

Her many singing and acting credits included appearances on

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, where she had guest roles on

Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his Law & Order (franchise), ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four internat ...

's ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

'', soap operas ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' as Eva Stroupe and '' Loving'', among others. She performed at theatres on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, and at numerous regional theatres. In 2000, she co-hosted a live daily talk show for women on the

Lifetime Network Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

with

Deborah Roberts Deborah Ann Roberts (born September 20, 1960) is an American television journalist for the ABC News division of the ABC broadcast television network. Early life and education Roberts was born in Perry, Georgia to Benjamin Roberts, a business ...

called ''Lifetime Live'' and also wrote a brief column for the defunct AccessLife.com These articles can be found at the Christopher Reeve Homepage. She sang the title song on the soundtrack of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

drama ''In the Gloaming'', directed by her husband. Reeve also had another cameo in her husband's movie '' The Brooke Ellison Story'' as a teacher. She authored the book ''Care Packages: Letters to Christopher Reeve from Strangers and Other Friends''. In 2004, she was performing in the Broadway-bound play ''

Brooklyn Boy ''Brooklyn Boy'' is a play by American playwright Donald Margulies. The play premiered in 2004 at South Coast Repertory and then on Broadway in 2005. Plot Novelist Eric Weiss, critically celebrated but unsuccessful, "arrives" when his new, autobi ...

'' at

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

when she had to rush home to reach her husband's bedside after he went into cardiac arrest and a coma. In April 2005, it was also announced that she signed a seven-figure book deal with Penguin Books to write about her relationship with her famous husband. It is not known how far Reeve got with writing the book before she died; the book was never published. The children's book ''Dewey Doo-it Helps Owlie Fly Again: A Musical Storybook Inspired by Christopher Reeve'' was published in 2005 and included an audio to accompany the book with

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

reading the story as well as Reeve and

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...

singing. On February 2, 2005, eight days before the death of her mother Helen, Reeve attended President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditio ...

address seated in the Capitol gallery in Washington, D.C. as the guest of Congressman

Jim Langevin James R. Langevin ( ; born April 22, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the first quadriplegic to serve in Congress; Langevin was appointed to be the first q ...

(D-RI). Several months before her death, Reeve taped the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

documentary ''The New Medicine'' focusing on the growing trend in medical care combining

holistic Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...

and traditional treatment. The program premiered after her death, on March 29, 2006. She also worked on the computer-animated movie ''

Everyone's Hero ''Everyone's Hero'' is a 2006 American computer-animated sports comedy-drama film directed by Christopher Reeve (in his final directed film after his death in 2004), Daniel St. Pierre, and Colin Brady. Starring the voices of Jake T. Austin, Rob ...

'', a project with the working title ''Yankee Irving'' when her husband was the director at the time of his death. The film was released on September 15, 2006, and is dedicated to both her and

Illness and death

In August 2005, ten months after the death of her husband, Reeve announced that she had been diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. She had never smoked, but in her early career often sang in smoky bars and hotel lobbies. In 2005, Reeve received the "Mother of the Year Award" from the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

for her dedication and determination in raising her son after the loss of her husband. In her final public appearances, Reeve stated that the

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

had responded to therapy and was shrinking. She appeared at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

on January 12, 2006, and sang the

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

song " Now and Forever" in honor of

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

hockey player

Mark Messier Mark John Douglas Messier (; born January 18, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years ( 1979– 2004) with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rang ...

, whose number was retired that evening. Reeve died on March 6, 2006, at

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

in New York City, 11 days before her 45th birthday. On the night that she died, instead of having a live performer sing the national anthem at Madison Square Garden prior to the Rangers' game, a recording of Reeve singing was played. She arranged for her son, Will Reeve, to live with their next door neighbors so he could finish school where he started instead of being forced to move in with relatives elsewhere. Her burial was at

Ferncliff Cemetery Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located at 280 Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States, about north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian. Ferncliff ...

Hartsdale, New York Hartsdale is a hamlet located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City. History Hartsdale, a CDP/hamlet/post-office in the town of Greenb ...

. Episode 16 of the fifth season of ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...

'' titled "Hypnotic" is dedicated to her and the film ''

Superman Returns ''Superman Returns'' is a 2006 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris (screenwriter), Dan Harris from a story by Singer, Dougherty and Harris based on the DC Comics character Superman. I ...

'' is dedicated to both her and Christopher. The animated film ''

'' (2006) is also dedicated in memory of Christopher and Dana Reeve.

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeve, Dana 1961 births 2006 deaths People from Teaneck, New Jersey People from Greenburgh, New York People from Pound Ridge, New York California Institute of the Arts alumni Edgemont Junior – Senior High School alumni Middlebury College alumni Dana 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singers American people of Italian descent Actresses from New Jersey Actresses from New York (state) Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Singers from New York (state) Singers from New Jersey 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state)