THE widow of the Superman actor Christopher Reeve has died of lung cancer at the age of 45 — a tragedy not just for her family but also for the campaign inspired by her husband’s paralysis.

Dana Reeve, who died in New York on Monday, had put her career as an actress and singer on hold to take care of her husband after he was paralysed in a riding accident in 1995. He died nine years later — and she then found that she herself had a debilitating illness.

Michael Manganello, who was Reeve’s assistant, said that her death had not been unexpected and that she had been surrounded by family and friends. “Dana was an elegant and graceful woman, and she left this world the same way. She was at peace.”

Mrs Reeve had announced only last year that she had lung cancer. Four months ago, at a fundraiser for the Christopher Reeve Foundation, she said that she was inspired by his example. He had been “a man who never gave up”. The couple had a 13-year-old son, Will, and Mrs Reeve also had two grown-up stepchildren, Matthew, a documentary film-maker, and Alexandra, who graduated from Yale last May. She is also survived by her father and two sisters. It was not clear last night who would take care of Will, although arrangements are thought to have been made.

Last November Mrs Reeve said that the hardest part of her illness was telling her son about it. “He was very young when Chris had his accident,” she said. “So I was able to say everything else is fine. We’re going to be fine, and you know, Daddy will be, well, different, but fine. I’ve always been his rock, and just following so quickly on the heels of his father’s death and my mother’s death. . . It has been a very rough year on our family.”

The announcement of Mrs Reeve’s illness, last August, was all the more shocking because she was a non-smoker.

Between 10 and 15 per cent of those who contract lung cancer are non-smokers, among whom women are twice as likely to get the disease as men. In a statement issued when her illness was announced, Mrs Reeve said: “Now, more than ever, I feel Chris with me as I face this challenge. As always, I look to him as the ultimate example of defying the odds with strength, courage and hope in the face of life’s adversities.” Reeve, who became an all-American hero after his casting in the 1978 film Superman and who went on to star in three sequels, dedicated his life to raising money for spinal cord research after his accident. The actor, who was 52 when he died, said that he had considered committing suicide after becoming paralysed, but that his wife had pulled him out of his depression by saying, “I still love you no matter what. You are still you.” Mrs Reeve also helped to fight for better treatments and possible cures for paralysis, and helped to establish the Reeve foundation. Kathy Lewis, its president and chief executive, said in a statement on behalf of everyone at the foundation: “We are extremely saddened by the death of Dana Reeve, whose grace and courage under the most difficult of circumstances was a source of comfort and inspiration to all of us.

“After Christopher’s death, Dana was determined to preserve the important work and the legacy of hope that became his life’s mission. Even in our grief, the foundation must pick up and continue to go forward with this mission.”

No funeral plans had been announced. The family asked for privacy and said that donations could be made to the Christopher Reeve Foundation in New Jersey.

Times obituary

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