Family Tree Tuesday – Christopher Reeve

Christopher Reeve was an American actor, director, screenwriter and author. Although he played many diverse roles throughout his career, he is perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of Superman in four feature films. After a horse riding accident resulted in him becoming a quadriplegic, Reeve spent much of the later part of his life as an advocate of stem cell research. He founded the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders.

Reeve was born into a wealthy and well educated family. His father, F.D. Reeve, was a prominent writer, poet and scholar of Russian literature. And his mother, Barbara Lamb, was a journalist. Interestingly, Reeve’s family tree includes successful business men, politicians and judges. His paternal grandfather, Colonel Richard Henry Reeve was the CEO of Prudential Financial for over twenty-five years.  While his mother is the granddaughter of Mahlon Pitney, who was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

In 1992, Reeve married Dana Morosini, an American singer and actress. After his accident, Dana became an activist for disability causes. Together, they had one son, William Elliot Reeve. Sadly, shortly after the death of Christopher Reeve, Dana was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in 2006.

Reeve also had two children from a previous relationship with Gae Exton. After his and Dana’s death, his son, Mathew Exton Reeve, and daughter, Alexandra Givens, became the public faces of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

Check out Christopher Reeve’s family tree! How are  you related?

Christopher Reeve's Family Tree