Oscar-nominated actress Valerie Perrine has died at the age of 82 after a ‘courageous’ health battle.
The star is best known for playing Eve Teschmacher, the love interest of Lex Luthor in the Superman films, who was played by Gene Hackman.
Announcing her death online, Perrine’s friend Stacey Souther wrote on a GoFundMe page that she died at her home ‘surrounded by love’ on March 23.
This came after a ‘quiet, courageous battle against both Parkinson’s disease and debilitating central tremors.’
Perrine’s acting career included roles in Slaughterhouse-Five, the Electric Horseman and 1974’s Lenny, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
The star was also known as a global sex symbol, having posed for Playboy magazine twice.
Writing on social media, Souther said: ”It is with deep sadness that I share the heartbreaking news that Valerie has passed away.
‘She faced Parkinson’s disease with incredible courage and compassion, never once complaining.
‘She was a true inspiration who lived life to the fullest—and what a magnificent life it was. The world feels less beautiful without her in it.
‘I love you, Valerie. I’ll see you on the other side.’
Souther also created a GoFundMe to help fulfill Perrine’s last wish of being buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park after she exhausted her finances during her health battle.
She continued: ‘Please consider donating, sharing, and helping spread the word for her funeral GoFundMe.
‘Her final wish is to be laid to rest at Forest Lawn Cemetery, but after more than 15 years of fighting Parkinson’s, her finances are exhausted. Let’s come together to make her last wish a reality—she truly deserves it.’
Souther’s GoFundMe page also detailed Perrine’s health battle within the last 15 years.
‘Around 2011, Valerie began experiencing the first signs of essential tremors; involuntary shaking that slowly began to steal the very instrument she’d built her life around: her body, her presence, her ability to perform. She laughed it off in public. But behind closed doors, the reality was devastating,’ the GoFundMe read.
‘The tremors were accompanied by the relentless progression of Parkinson’s disease. The career that had defined her life was no longer possible.
‘As roles dried up, so did the financial security that should have come with a lifetime of extraordinary work. Valerie spent what she had on medical care, determined to fight. She fought for fifteen years. She never complained. She kept smiling.’
In the original Superman and it’s sequel, Superman II, Perrine played Lex Luthor’s personal assistant Eve Teschmacher.
Luthor was played by Hackman, who died last year at the age of 95.
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