Christopher Reeve Reflected on Disability Before Tragic Paralysis Accident

Christopher Reeve, best known for playing Superman, once portrayed a paralyzed police officer in the 1995 TV movie Above Suspicion. Just days after the film premiered, Reeve suffered a life-changing horseback riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator.

Speaking on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1998, Reeve said researching the role had changed his understanding of disability. He recalled feeling relieved that paralysis had not happened to him, only to face the same reality months later. Reeve said the experience taught him that “any one of us could get hurt at any moment” and urged people not to treat those in wheelchairs as strangers.

After the accident, Reeve and his wife, Dana, became major advocates for spinal cord research. They worked closely with the American Paralysis Association, which was later renamed the Christopher Reeve Foundation in recognition of their efforts.

Friends and colleagues said Reeve pushed researchers to pursue treatments and recovery options for people with spinal cord injuries at a time when little funding existed for the field.

Reeve died in 2004 at age 52 after suffering cardiac arrest at a hospital near his home in New York.