'She was really a blazing energy.'
Margot Kidder, who famously played Lois Lane in Superman alongside Christopher Reeve, has passed away of a suicide. The actress passed away earlier this year and since then, the Park county coroner’s office ruled that she had in fact been a victim of suicide rather than passing naturally in her sleep as was earlier reported.
Her manager Camilla Fluxman Pines initially said that the actress had died peacefully in her sleep on May 15. However, following an investigation, the coroner’s office stated that she died ‘as a result of a self-inflicted drug and alcohol overdose’.
She was found by her close friend Joan Kesich at home, who said to The Guardian, ‘In her last months, she was herself – same kind of love, same kind of energy. The challenges that she had were very public. I want what I know about her to be out there because it was glorious. She was really a blazing energy.’
Kidder was an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness and talked candidly in interviews about her battle, particularly in a PEOPLE cover profile in which she described living with “mood swings that could knock over a building”. In 1990, she also suffered from a car accident which left her needing a wheelchair for two years and in debt.
Kidder exploded onto the silver screen as Lois Lane, a spitfire of a journalist that Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent became enamoured with, and worked alongside him on four Superman films between 1978 and 1987. She also worked on The Great Waldo Pepper, Sisters and The Amityville Horror and last starred in The Neighbourhood in 2017.
Brandon Routh, who reprised the role of Superman in Superman Returns, issued a heartfelt statement on Twitter in which he discussed the impact she and her late colleague Christopher Reeve had had on him as an actor.
He wrote, 'I had the honor of meeting #MargotKidder & speaking with her about her Superman experience. She is my #LoisLane, just as #ChristopherReeve is my Superman. I'm grateful for the inspiring energy she brought to Lois & for her advocacy for #MentalHealthIssues. #ThankYouMargot'
Her daughter Maggie McGuane called it a ‘big relief’ that her cause of death had been revealed. She told the Associated Press, ‘It’s important to be open and honest so there’s not a cloud of shame in dealing with this.’
She finished, ‘It’s a very unique sort of grief and pain. Knowing how many families in this state go through this, I wish that I could reach out to each one of them.’
For those who feel they may require mental health support, the Samaritans can be reached 24/7 on their hotline 116 123 and can also be emailed at jo@samaritans.org.
