NEWS / Superman actress Valerie Perrine died of cardiac arrest – death certificate

American actress Valerie Perrine, best known for playing the role of henchwoman Ms. Eve Teschmacher in the 1978 Superman movie and its 1980 sequel Superman II, died of acute cardiopulmonary arrest, according to a death certificate obtained by PEOPLE. The actress passed away at her Los Angeles, California, home, on March 23, 2026, at the age of 82.

According to PEOPLE, the death certificate also mentioned Parkinson’s disease as an underlying cause of death. The Los Angeles Department of Health also determined that dementia was a contributing factor.

Perrine’s death was first announced on her Facebook page by the actress’s close friend by Stacey Souther.

“I love you, Valerie,” Souther ended his post. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

Souther also added a GoFundMe campaign for Perrine’s funeral and noted that the actress passed away “surrounded by love, exactly as she had wished.”

Perrine started her career as that of a Las Vegas showgirl but moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, appearing in movies such as Slaughterhouse-Five by George Roy Hill in 1972 and the 1973 television anthology series Love Story. In 1975, Perrine was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Honey Bruce, wife of comedian Lenny Bruce, in the 1974 biographical drama Lenny by Bob Fosse. She followed up that success with her role of Carlotta Monti in 1976 biographical film W. C. Fileds and Me by Arthur Hiller.

In 1978, Perrine appeared in what became her most well-known role to the general public as Ms. Eve Teschmacher, a henchwoman assisting the villainous Lex Luther, portrayed by Gene Hackman, in the 1978 superhero movie Superman. Throughout the movie, Luther would often yell her character’s name, which served as a form of comic relief. In a pivotal scene, Perrine’s character also rescues Superman, portrayed by Christopher Reeve, from kryptonite as she realizes that one of the missiles hijacked by Luther would kill her own mother.

Despite her falling out with Luther at the end of Superman, Perrine would come back to help Gene Hackman’s Luther escape from prison in the 1980 sequel to the iconic movie Superman II, which sees a love-smitten Superman give up his powers while a trio of supervillains led by Terence Stamp’s General Zod and assisted by the now escaped Luther, take over the world.

Perrine also appeared in The Electric Horseman (1979) opposite Robert Redford, Can’t Stop the Music (1980), The Border (1982) opposite Jack Nicholson, as well the sitcom Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills (1986) opposite Harvey Korman.

In the 1990s, the actress became less public with her appearances, although she had a guest role on the police drama TV show Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1999) in 1995 and in 2000 movie What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.

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