One of the biggest cult icons of 80s cinema stepped out for a rare outing in Los Angeles on Monday, looking almost unrecognizable at 62. The actress shot to superstardom at just 18 playing Superman's cousin in 1984's Supergirl, but still carried plenty of Hollywood glamour as she was spotted on a casual coffee run to Starbucks.
Dressed down in a simple top and baggy jeans, the former screen siren looked worlds away from the rebellious bombshell she played in 1985 cult classic The Legend of Billie Jean alongside Christian Slater (no relation). She went on to flex her comedic chops opposite Bette Midler in Ruthless People, before turning up the heat as Michael J. Fox's love interest in 1987's The Secret of My Success.
But after years in the spotlight, the actress took a sharp left turn, walking away from Hollywood for a moment to pursue a PhD in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology. So... can you guess the mystery star who went from 80s darling to doctor? If you said Helen Slater, you're spot on!
From Supergirl to Scholar
After her string of hits in the 80s, Slater bounced between movies and TV. She had a small but memorable role in the summer 1991 hit City Slickers, though the ensemble nature of the film left her somewhat on the sidelines. Still, she stayed busy, building an impressively diverse resume with standout projects like the mind-bending time-loop thriller 12:01 (1993), the tense home invasion drama A House in the Hills (1993) opposite Michael Madsen, and a family-friendly reimagining of Lassie (1994).
In 1995's action thriller No Way Back, Slater played a sunny air hostess opposite a gruff Russell Crowe. As the decade turned, Slater landed another standout role in Nowhere in Sight (2001), playing a blind cellist in a suspenseful thriller inspired by Audrey Hepburn's classic Wait Until Dark (1967).
Musical Pursuits
Amid her wildly successful film career, Slater turned some of her focus to music. In 2003, she released her first album, One of These Days, featuring her original songs performed live with her on piano and accompanied by six other musicians. Two years later, she followed up with Crossword, and since then has released four more albums: Shine (2010), The Myth of Ancient Greece (2013) and The Ugly Duckling (2015), both made for children, and Selkie (2019), an eleven-song concept album presented as one continuous musical piece.
Reflections on Supergirl
Although Supergirl launched Slater into stardom, the film itself was a box office disappointment, earning just $14.3 million against a $35 million budget. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc, the movie featured a star-studded cast including Peter O'Toole, Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Hart Bochner, and Brenda Vaccaro. Reflecting on the role during a past interview on the Inside Of You podcast with host Michael Rosenbaum, Slater said, 'I started crying. Like I just – my whole life changed. Like massive, massively changed.'
She also opened up in a 2023 interview with Bright Lights about life before landing the role. 'I had just graduated from the Performing Arts High School, the school from the Fame movie and the TV show. I was eighteen,' she began. 'I had told my parents that I would like to take a year off to try to find work as an actress, because when I was at Performing Arts High School we weren't allowed to work. We were really being trained. I graduated in June and I auditioned for Supergirl that October or November. Before that I had done a few commercials. I was in an ABC Afterschool Special called Amy & the Angel, and I played Amy. The school did let me out for that. But mostly we were not encouraged to be working, and I really wanted to try and get work,' she continued. 'I went on a few auditions before Supergirl. When you're eighteen, weirdly, there are a lot more opportunities, certainly, than when you get older – I think the opportunities get fewer and fewer. But I remember auditioning quite a lot before Supergirl; there were a lot of things coming up. It was a pretty busy time.'
Personal Life and Legacy
Slater, who has been married to Robert Watzke since 1989 and shares a daughter, Hannah Nika Watzke, has continued her connection to the superhero world. She portrayed Eliza Danvers on the Supergirl TV series (2015–2021), which premiered on CBS before moving to The CW. She also appeared in Smallville, the show chronicling a young Clark Kent. Meanwhile, a remake of the 1984 film is currently in the works at Warner Bros., with Milly Alcock cast as the new Supergirl in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. At the time of Alcock's casting announcement in January, DC Studios CEO James Gunn said, 'Milly is a fantastically talented young actor, and I'm incredibly excited about her being a part of the DCU.' It is not yet known whether Slater will have any involvement in the new project.
