Christopher Reeve’s Kids: All About the ‘Superman’ Star’s 3 Children
The actor’s son Matthew recently spoke out about the memorable Oscars appearance his dad made after his paralyzing accident. Find out more about Matthew and his siblings here.
Christopher Reeve was best known as an actor who played the epic role of Superman in the 1978 film Superman and its three sequels, but he was also a loving father to three children. His son Matthew Reeve recently made headlines when he praised his dad, who died at the age of 52 in 2004, for his 1996 appearance at the Academy Awards, his first public appearance after the life-changing horse accident that paralyzed him from the neck down. He received a standing ovation from the Oscars crowd, which can be seen in the video below.
“I remember I was in London, it was a school night and we stayed up until three or four in the morning to watch it. And it was absolutely incredible,” Matthew told PEOPLE in an interview at the recent premiere of the new documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.
“And what sticks with me most was after that incredible warm welcome and that very long ovation that he received, his introduction — he followed it up with a wonderful speech about how cinema and movies are at their best when they not only entertain, but they inform and educate and address issues,” he continued.
Since Christopher’s death, his three children have gone on to create impressive careers for themselves. Get to know them below.
Matthew Exton Reeve
Matthew is Christopher’s oldest child. He was welcomed by Christopher and modeling executive Gae Exton, whom the actor was dating at the time, in London, England on December 20, 1979. They were broken up when Gae first found out she was pregnant, but later rekindled their romance.
Matthew went to Brown University and graduated in 2002. He became a producer, screenwriter, director, and activist, and produced and directed the 2002 documentary Christopher Reeve: Hope in Motion. It won the Communicator Award for Excellence in documentary filmmaking and was even nominated for an Emmy Award. The follow up film, Christopher Reeve: Choosing Hope, was released in October 2004, shortly after Christopher’s death.
Matthew has also produced other projects unrelated to his dad. He filmed, produced and directed Over The Water, a 2009 documentary about World Champion kiteboarder Aaron Hadlow. That same year, he was also admitted into the NYU MBA/MFA dual degree program, a joint Master’s program at the NYU Stern School of Business and NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and graduated in 2012.
Matthew’s activism is also a large part of his life. He joined the board of directors of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, an organization named after his dad and late stepmom. It is dedicated to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders. He’s also run in the New York City Marathon to raise money for spinal cord injury research.
As of 2024, it’s been reported Matthew has been living in Stockholm, Sweden with his family, which reportedly includes a son and daughter.
Alexandra Exton Reeve
Alexandra Reeve is the second child born to Christoper and Gae. She was welcomed in London in December 1983. Four years after her birth, her parents amicably split and had joint custody of her and her brother Matthew. They lived in London and would spend holidays with their dad in New York.
Alexandra attended Yale University and Columbia University’s School of Law and went on to build a successful career. She started working as a litigator at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City, and as an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Law for five years, according to her biography on the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs website.
She’s held a lot of prestigious positions, including the founding Executive Director of the Institute for Technology Law & Policy at Georgetown Law and the chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee covering innovation and consumer protection. She also became the Center for Democracy & Technology’s (CDT) President & CEO, and an advocate for using technology to increase equality, amplify voices, and promote human rights.
In addition to her professional career, Alexandra has worked with charity by serving as the Vice Chair of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
Alexandra married Garren Givens in 2008 and added Givens to her last name. The couple welcomed their first child, Christopher Russel, who was named after Alexandra’s late dad, in 2015. “He was named after his grandfathers on each side, two very important role models for Garren and Alexandra,” a representative of the family told PEOPLE at the time. “The entire family is thriving during their first few weeks home,” according to the rep.
During the premiere of the documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story in January 2024, Alexandra praised the fact that her father’s story was once again being brought to life through the film.
“There are so many different parts of his personality and his passions that come through in the film,” she said, according to Deadline. “He was dedicated to his craft, of course, before the accident, but also after being able to return to acting and directing and showing that a disability wouldn’t hold him back. So that legacy of what it is to care about your career and keep moving even after overwhelming obstacles is one key part of it. But the other part is his life as an advocate. He was an activist again before the injury. And then after the injury, of course, he became known around the world for his advocacy, for medical research and for disability rights.”
William Reeve
William Reeve, who also goes by Will, was born to Christopher and his wife Dana Reeve, in June 1992, just a few months after the couple married. He played hockey and did some acting when he was young, including in the 1997 TV movie In the Gloaming, which was directed by Christopher, but he sadly became an orphan at 13, after his dad died of medication complications in 2004 and his mom of lung cancer in 2006. He went on to live with a childhood friend after his mom’s death
Will, who is a big sports fan, graduated from Middlebury College and interned at Good Morning America before joining ESPN’s SportsCenter. He’s also worked as a correspondent for ABC News since 2018.
Like his two older half-siblings, Will has done work with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and served as one of the organization’s board members. According to his Instagram page, he spends his time enjoying work, family, and friends as well as carrying on his late parent’s legacies.
During the premiere of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story in January 2024, Will publicly commented about 2024 being the 20-year anniversary of Christopher’s death, and talked about how important the documentary was for him and his family.
“With 2024 being the 20-year anniversary of our father’s death, that felt like the right time to reintroduce him and his heroic story to the world,” he said, according to Deadline. “And as we met the folks at Passion Pictures and Misfits Entertainment, and Ian and Peter and our friends at Words + Pictures, we knew we had the right team. Everything came together in a way that we knew as a family we could be open and honest and vulnerable and hand everything over to them and see what they came back with. And that trust has been rewarded in a way that we’re just so thrilled about and can’t wait for the world to experience as well.”