Sydney Morning Herald: 4/4/06

SHE was superwoman to Superman. Dana Reeve, who has died a few days short of her 45th birthday, put her career as an actor and dancer on hold in 1995 to care for her husband, actor Christopher Reeve, after he was paralysed in a horseriding accident.

Reeve, best known for playing the role of Superman in a series of films starting in 1978, died in October 2004.

Ten months later Dana was diagnosed with lung cancer; she was a non-smoker.

The Reeves visited Sydney in January 2003, and with the support of the then premier, Bob Carr, presented a well-publicised case for supporting stem cell research in Australia.
The couple established the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which has raised $US60 million ($80 million) for neuroscientific research.

Despite the severity of Reeve's condition and the huge logistics involved, the couple travelled widely to spread the message about the need for cutting-edge stem cell research to improve care for people in situations such as his.

Their two-week stay in Sydney in 2003 was a hectic schedule of taking in the Making Connections Forum on caring for people with spinal cord injuries or neurological conditions, visits to rehabilitation facilities to meet others with spinal cord injuries, interviews, media conferences and a gala fund-raising event for the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, at which Dana sang.

After Reeve's death, Dana also founded the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Centre which raises funds to help those suffering from paralysis.

The daughter of a cardiologist, Dana Morosini was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, and raised in Scarsdale, New York. After spending her junior year at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, she graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1984 where she had studied English.
She had established her career as a performer by 1987, when she met Reeve after she had just sung The Music That Makes Me Dance in a cabaret act in Massachusetts. She later appeared in TV shows such as Law & Order and Oz, and had appeared in commercials.

Shortly before Reeve's riding accident, she played a detective opposite her husband in Above Suspicion. In 1998 she appeared on Broadway in More to Love, and in 2000 she co-hosted a daily talk show, Lifetime. But then she withdrew from the limelight to be with her husband.

The couple had strong social connections to Australia, and there was another link, too - Reeve's father was stationed in Sydney during World War II.

Dana's diagnosis of lung cancer was made public in August last year. In January she sang Now and Forever at a Madison Square Garden ceremony, and reassured the crowd that she was "beating the odds and defying every statistic the doctors can throw at me".

Dana Reeve is survived by her 13-year-old son Will, and a son, Matthew, and daughter, Alexandra, from her husband's first marriage.

Nick Rowley writes:
When Dana Reeve arrived at Sydney Airport in January 2003, the first thing she did was walk up to a group of people who had been brought together here in less than eight weeks to sort out all the logistics of bringing her husband and her to Australia. They were anonymous faces, previously just names in emails, and she wanted to meet them all.

The trip was Reeve's first flight on a scheduled airline since his accident. It was a 20-hour marathon from New York, and a major achievement in his journey of rehabilitation and reconnection with the world.

And so began a hectic schedule in the name of all spinal injury sufferers. It was a demanding itinerary but the Reeves had come a long way and they wanted to make the most of it.
The day before they were to leave, I asked Dana if she could sign about a dozen books for the people who had worked locally to organise the visit. I suggested a few personal words for each of them that she might include, but said that a signature and the word "thanks" would be enough.

But when I collected the books from her the following morning, she had then written paragraphs confirming their appreciation for each person's contribution.

When Christopher died I wrote her a long letter. I knew it would be one among many thousands and didn't expect a reply. But it came, with a personal note wishing me well. She was that special.

Nick Rowley more info was instrumental in organising Dana and Christopher Reeve's visit to Sydney while working for the NSW premier.

Material also sourced from The Washington Post.