Variety reports Academy Award-nominated actress Valerie Perrine died on Monday, March 23, following an 15-year battle with essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease. She was 82 years old. Best known to comic book readers for playing Lex Luthor’s assistant Eve Teschmacher in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), Perrine was also renowned for her portrayal of Honey Bruce, the wife of Lenny Bruce, in 1974’s Lenny, and also starred in Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), Can’t Stop the Music (1980), and What Women Want (2000).
Perrine was born in Galveston, Texas, on September 3, 1943. Her father was an army colonel, and her mother was a dancer. She began her career as a Las Vegas showgirl in 1968, during which time she became engaged to gun collector Bill Haarman, and then dated hair stylist Jay Sebring. Both relationships ended tragically in 1969: Haarman died after a gun accident, and Sebring was murdered by the Manson Family. Perrine would’ve likely become a victim as well, had she not bowed out of attending the party he was killed at after of a work scheduling conflict.
She made her film debut in Slaughterhouse-Five after being noticed by an agent at a party, and subsequently posed for Playboy. She gained further notoriety the following year, after she appeared nude on a PBS broadcast of the play Steambath, making her the first actress to do on American TV. For her performance in Lenny, she won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, and Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles at the BAFTAs, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
For her performance as Miss Teschmacher, who eventually turns on Luthor, Perrine earned an Saturn nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The character did not originate in the comics, but was eventually ported over to them as Luthor’s secretary in 2000’s JLA: Earth 2, and made subsequent appearances on Smallville (as Tess Mercer, played by Cassidy Freeman), the Supergirl TV show (portrayed by Andrea Brooks), the 2019 comics series Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, and in 2025’s Superman film (played by Sara Sampaio).
Perrine’s career took a downturn with flop musical Can’t Stop the Music, a film that (along with Xanadu) led to the creation of the Razzie Awards, where she became one of the first nominees for Worst Actress. Subsequent work included the TV shows Northern Exposure, Homicide: Life on the Street, ER, Walker, Texas Ranger, As the World Turns, and Just Shoot Me! Her last acting role came in the 2016 comedy drama Silver Skies, a few years after she began developing tremors.
She is survived by her brother Ken, a neuropsychologist, who is battling Parkinson’s as well; and by her friend and carer Stacey Souther, who directed the 2019 documentary short Valerie. They have launched a GoFundMe to fulfil her last wish, which was to be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, something she could not afford as a result of the costs spent on her healthcare. Souther writes, “To the Superman Family and Beyond: You watched her help save Superman. You laughed with her. You cheered for her. Now it’s our turn.” At the time of writing, the fundraiser has raised $22,320 of its $35,000 goal.
Writer Mark Harris was among those who paid tribute to Perrine online, saying, “She was a fun, spirited presence in many subsequent movies made by an industry that didn’t know what to do with her. RIP.” Author Mark O’Connell commented, “To stand up as the Hackensack-born comic foil to Gene Hackman & Ned Beatty in two sprawling Superman films was no easy feat. But Valerie Perrine did just that. And did so with warmth, humanity & great comedy chops.” You can learn more about her life in a 2023 retrospective with The Hollywood Reporter.
