Christopher Reeve Genealogy
(aka, Christopher Reeve)Are You Related?

An American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and activist most remembered for his iconic role as Superman, Christopher D'Olier Reeve was born September 25, 1952, in New York City, New York. He began acting at the age of nine in a student play; his first big role was in the Broadway play, A Matter of Gravity, starring Katherine Hepburn, who personally selected Reeves to play her grandson. At the same time, he began work on Love of Life for CBS, partially due to Hepburn's influence as well. The two remained close friends over the years. As production began for the blockbuster film Superman, the casting director put Reeve's picture at the top of the casting pile three times, only to have the producers throw it out. Finally, Reeve was cast. He reportedly based his performance of Clark Kent off Cary Grant's role in Bringing Up Baby. He went on to star in three sequels. Other important films include Somewhere in Time, Deathtrap, the Bostonians, and Remains of the Day. To train for Anna Karenina, Reeves began horseback riding training but soon grew to love it. While competing, Reeve fell and was paralyzed from the neck down. He spent the rest of his life lobbying for stem cell research and founded the Christopher Reeve foundation. He died on October 10, 2004, from heart failure, and was survived by his wife, Dana Morosini, and three children (two from a previous relationship with Gae Exton).

Christopher Reeve's last name, "Reeve," is an English name and refers to a representative of a lord. It was first used in Suffolk. Other spellings include "Reve," "Reave," "Reeves," and "Reaves." The first Reeve to settle in the United States was Samuel Reeve in Virginia in 1622.