When actress Margot Kidder passed back in May, her manager, Camilla Fluxman Pines, said she died peacefully in her sleep. Now, the Associated Press reports that a statement released Wednesday by Park County coroner Richard Wood reveals that Kidder “died as a result of a self-inflicted drug and alcohol overdose.” The revelation makes her another in a recent string of celebrity suicides, which include Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, popular DJ Aviici, and TV host Anthony Bourdain.
The news was confirmed to the AP by Kidder’s daughter, Maggie McGuane. “It’s a big relief that the truth is out there,” she told them. “It’s important to be open and honest so there’s not a cloud of shame in dealing with this.”
Kidder openly struggled with bipolar disorder and was a fierce mental health advocate. She experienced a very public manic episode in April 1996 when a computer virus caused her to lose three years’ worth of drafts of her autobiography. She went missing for four days before being discovered in a Los Angeles homeowners’ backyard.
The AP also reports that the Superman actress was living in a state of chaos in her final years, as her attempts to provide refuge for those in need resulted in authorities being called to her home 40 times between August 2016 and her death. Additionally, ambulances were called to Kidder’s home five times in seven months, including at the time of her death.
Kidder played the intrepid reporter Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve’s Man of Steel in four Superman films from the 1978 original to 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Her first turn as the character earned her a Saturn Award for Best Actress and shot her to fame. Kidder delivered what many consider to be the quintessential portrayal of Lane, her gutsy, willful, confident attitude providing the perfect foil for Reeve’s timid and mild-mannered Clark Kent.
