Film and Television Work
Slater made her acting debut in the ABC Afterschool Special "Amy & the Angel", aired in 1982, alongside James Earl Jones, Meg Ryan, and Matthew Modine. This was also the only film she appeared in as a brunette. In 1984, she was cast as the title character, versus Faye Dunaway as Selena, in the film Supergirl, released in 1984. The film, directed by Jeannot Szwarc, received mixed reviews, and was not a box-office success.
In her next film, she was cast alongside Christian Slater (no relation) and Yeardley Smith as Billie Jean Davy, a folk hero that styles herself as a modern day Joan of Arc, in the film The Legend of Billie Jean (1985). Next she appeared in two high profile comedies, Ruthless People (1986) and The Secret of My Success (1987). More high-profile roles followed when she appeared in the cult classic independent comedy Sticky Fingers (1988) with longtime friend Melanie Mayron and the steamy A House in the Hills (1993) with Michael Madsen. She has also voiced Talia al Ghul in the highly acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series (1992).
She became a spokeswoman for Preference by L'Oréal in both television and print ads. Since the late 1980s, she has worked in television and film. She made a brief guest appearance on Seinfeld as a love interest of Jerry Seinfeld, who in reality is a huge fan of the Superman universe. Slater made a return to the Superman franchise, as she was seen in a recurring role as Clark Kent's biological mother, Lara, on the Superman-themed TV series Smallville.
In 2009, she guest-starred in an episode of The CW horror series Supernatural. In 2011, she was cast in the ABC Family series The Lying Game.
Read more about this topic: Helen Slater
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