Helen Slater is proving she still has it at 62, turning heads decades after rising to fame as one of the 80s’ most iconic pinups.
She shot to superstardom at just 18 as Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin, in 1984’s Supergirl, dazzling fans in her skintight costume and flowing blonde hair.
The role cemented her as a poster girl for the era, but a year later she chopped off her signature locks to play a rebellious Texas teen-turned-outlaw martyr alongside Christian Slater (no relation) in The Legend of Billie Jean.
Slater then flexed her comedic chops with a hilarious turn alongside Bette Midler in Ruthless People, followed by a sizzling performance as Michael J. Fox’s love interest in 1987’s The Secret of My Success.
Now, the former blonde bombshell has swapped her golden hair for stunning grey, flaunting it in a recent Instagram video that left fans swooning.
The star looked radiant as she showed off her grey locks and discussed mental wellness, all while highlighting her PhD in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology.
Helen Slater shot to superstardom at just 18 as Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin, in 1984’s Supergirl, dazzling fans in her skintight costume, flowing blonde hair, and cape… but now she’s embracing her grey hair; (pictured in Supergirl)
The Supergirl role cemented her as a poster girl for the era, but a year later she chopped off her signature locks for The Legend of Billie Jean
In the 1990s, Slater bounced between movies and TV, proving she could handle both comedy and drama with ease.
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).
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.
In The LEgend of Billie Jean, Slater played a rebellious Texas teen-turned-outlaw martyr alongside Christian Slater (no relation)
Slater then flexed her comedic chops as Michael J. Fox’s love interest in 1987’s The Secret of My Success
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
‘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.’
Now, the former blonde bombshell has swapped her golden hair for stunning grey, flaunting it in a recent Instagram video that left fans swooning.
The star looked radiant as she showed off her grey locks and discussed mental wellness, all while highlighting her PhD in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology
Slater has been married to Robert Watzke since 1989; (pictured)
The couple share daughter Hannah Nika Watzke (pictured)
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.
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