Valerie Perrine, Oscar-nominated Cannes winner and 'Superman' actress, dies aged 82
Mar 24th 2026 ยท United States
The Texas-born actress, celebrated for her Cannes-winning turn in Lenny and for playing Eve Teschmacher in the Superman films, has died at 82 after a public battle with Parkinson's disease.
- Valerie Perrine died aged 82 and her death was announced by filmmaker Stacey Souther.
- She had battled Parkinson's disease in later years.
- She won Best Actress at Cannes for Lenny in 1974 and was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
- She is best known to mainstream audiences as Eve Teschmacher in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980).
- She narrowly avoided the 1969 Manson Family murders after being due to attend Sharon Tate's house with Jay Sebring but unable to go.
- She began as a Las Vegas showgirl and appeared in films including Slaughterhouse-Five and The Electric Horseman.
- In 1973 she intentionally exposed her breasts during a PBS broadcast of Steambath, becoming the first actress to appear nude on American network television.