This is an accepted version of this page
Margot Kidder | |
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.png) Kidder in 1970 | |
| Born | Margaret Ruth Kidder (1948-10-17)October 17, 1948 Yellowknife,Northwest Territories, Canada |
| Died | May 13, 2018(2018-05-13) (aged 69) Livingston, Montana, U.S. |
| Citizenship |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1965–2018 |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was a Canadian and American actress and activist. She amassedseveral film and television credits in her career spanning five decades, including her widely known role asLois Lane in the originalSuperman films (1978–1987). Her accolades included twoCanadian Film Awards, anEmmy Award, aGenie Award, and aSaturn Award.
Born inYellowknife to a Canadian mother and an American father, Kidder was raised in theNorthwest Territories and several Canadian provinces. She began her acting career in the 1960s, appearing in low-budget Canadian productions and winning theCanadian Film Special Award in1969. She first received attention for appearing in the comedy filmQuackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970), the horror filmsSisters (1972),Black Christmas (1974), andThe Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975), and the drama filmsA Quiet Day in Belfast (1974) andThe Great Waldo Pepper (1975).
Kidder's internationalbreakthrough came with playing Lois Lane inSuperman (1978) andKathy Lutz inThe Amityville Horror (1979), which wereblockbuster films. For these roles, she was twice nominated for theSaturn Award for Best Actress, winning in1978 forSuperman. She reprised the role of Lois in threeSuperman sequels (1980–1987), and also played Rita Harris in the comedy filmHeartaches (1981) and made her stage debut with the playBus Stop (1982). After a stint of films and projects that were ambivalently received, Kidder sustained serious injuries in a car accident that left her temporarily paralyzed in 1990, and suffered from a highly publicizedmanic episode andnervous breakdown in 1996 stemming frombipolar disorder.
Kidder thereafter maintained steady work inindependent films and television, notably appearing in the hockey filmChicks with Sticks (2004) and the horror pictureHalloween II (2009), and playing a guest role onR.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour (2015). She maintaineddual citizenship and was an outspokenpolitical,environmental andantiwar activist.[1] Kidder died on May 13, 2018, of an alcohol and drug overdose, which was ruled asuicide.[2]
Margaret Ruth Kidder, one of five children, was born on October 17, 1948, inYellowknife,Northwest Territories, the daughter of Jocelyn Mary "Jill" (née Wilson), a history teacher fromBritish Columbia, and Kendall Kidder, an American explosives expert and engineer originally fromNew Mexico.[3][4][5][6] She was ofWelsh andEnglish descent.[7]
Kidder was born in Yellowknife because of her father's employment, which required the family to live in remote locations.[8] Her father subsequently served as the manager of the Yellowknife Telephone Company from 1948 to 1951. She had one sister, Annie, who is an actress and executive director of the People for Education charity, and three brothers: John, Michael, and Peter. Two of her siblings married notable Canadians: Annie married actorEric Peterson and John married politicianElizabeth May.[9] Kidder's nieceJanet Kidder is also an actress.[10]
Recalling her childhood in northern Canada, Kidder said: "We didn't have movies in this little mining town. When I was 12, my mom took me toNew York [City] and I sawBye Bye Birdie, with people singing and dancing, and that was it. I knew I had to go far away. I was clueless, but I [have done] okay."[11] In addition to Yellowknife, she also spent some time growing up inLabrador City,Newfoundland and Labrador.[12] Kidder became interested inpolitics from a young age, which she credited to debates her parents would have over the dinner table; her mother hadsocialist leanings, while her father was a conservativeRepublican.[13]
Kidder hadmental health issues from a young age, which stemmed from undiagnosedbipolar disorder.[14] "I knew I was different, had these mind flights that other people didn't seem to have," she recalled.[14] At age 14, sheattempted suicide.[14] Kidder found an outlet in acting, as she felt she could "let my real self out ... and no one would know it was me."[14] "Nobody ever encouraged me to be an actress," she recalled. "It was taken as a joke ... As a teenager, I envisioned myself in every book I read. I wanted to beHenry Miller andThomas Wolfe. I wanted to eat everything on the world's platter, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach."[15]
She attended several schools during her youth through her family's relocations, eventually graduating fromHavergal College, a high-school-level boarding school inToronto, in 1966.[16] In 1966, she found herself pregnant by her boyfriend, who arranged for an illegal abortion. The abortionist was located in a hotel room and filled Kidder's uterus withLysol to terminate the pregnancy.[17] After graduating from Havergal, Kidder relocated toVancouver to attend theUniversity of British Columbia, but dropped out after one year.[15] She returned to Toronto, where she found work as amodel.[15]
Kidder's television debut was in an episode ofWojeck aired January 16, 1968, billed as "Margaret Kidder". She very shortly afterward adopted the name Margot Kidder, which she used for the rest of her life. She then made her film debut in a 49-minute film titledThe Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar (1968), a drama set in a Canadian logging community, which was produced by theChallenge for Change.[18] Kidder's 1969 appearance in the episode "Does Anybody Here Know Denny?" on the Canadian drama seriesCorwin earned her aCanadian Film Award for "outstanding new talent."[19]
Kidder's first major feature was the 1969 American filmGaily, Gaily, aperiod comedy starringBeau Bridges, in which she portrayed a prostitute.[20] She subsequently appeared in a number of TV drama series for theCBC,[20] including guest appearances onAdventures in Rainbow Country, and a semi-regular role as a young reporter onMcQueen,[21] and as a panelist onMantrap, which featured discussions centered on a feminist perspective.[22]
During the 1971–72 season, she co-starred as barmaid Ruth inNichols, aJames Garner–led Western,[23] which aired 22 episodes onNBC. During an August 3, 1970, interview onThe Dick Cavett Show, Kidder stated that she was ambivalent toward having a film career, and was considering working as afilm editor in the future.[24] At this time, she had become an acquaintance of directorRobert Altman's, and served as an apprentice assisting him in editingBrewster McCloud (1970).[20] She subsequently appeared in "Such Dust As Dreams Are Made On", the first pilot forHarry O, which aired in March 1973. She was aguest star in a 1972 episode of theGeorge Peppard detective seriesBanacek.[25]
After moving toLos Angeles, Kidder was cast oppositeGene Wilder inQuackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970)[26] as an exchange student in Ireland who becomes the love interest of a poor horse manure collector in Dublin, whom she almost runs over with her car. After filming in Ireland, Kidder relocated to New York City to study acting further.[27] A year later, she returned to California, and was cast in theBrian De Palma filmSisters (1972), which gained notoriety for both the director and Kidder, who as leading lady, portrayedconjoined twins, one of whom is a suspect in a brutal murder.[11] Kidder had been in a relationship with De Palma at the time, and had been roommates with co-starJennifer Salt in Los Angeles.[28]Sisters went on to achieve critical recognition, being considered among the best American films of the decade by criticRobin Wood,[29] as well as one of the most important films in Kidder's career by film critic G. Allen Johnson.[30]
In 1974, she starred in the slasher filmBlack Christmas, for which she won a Canadian Film Award for Best Actress,[19] followed by a role as a prostitute in theTerrence Malick–scriptedThe Gravy Train (1974).[28] She received another Canadian Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the war dramaA Quiet Day in Belfast (1974).[19][31] Also in 1974, Kidder made her directorial debut with a 50-minute short film produced for theAmerican Film Institute, titledAgain.[32] The film follows a woman who pastes photographs of her former lovers on her wall, continuously searching for "Mr. Right".[32]
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Kidder had a central supporting role in the airplane-themed dramaThe Great Waldo Pepper (1975) oppositeRobert Redford andSusan Sarandon, followed by a lead role in the psychological horror filmThe Reincarnation of Peter Proud, directed byJ. Lee Thompson, in which she portrayed a woman about whom a college professor has recurring nightmares.[33]Variety praised her performance in the latter film as "outstandingly rich."[34] In the summer of 1975, Kidder was hired to direct adocumentary short chronicling the making ofThe Missouri Breaks (1976), a Western film starringMarlon Brando andJack Nicholson.[32] "I was such a jerk," she recalled. "I mean, I thought they wanted a real documentary. So, I filmed all the behind-the-scenes rows and arguments and shot footage of the vet shooting up the horses with tranquilizers so the actors would look as if they rode well. What an idiot I was. Then when they fired me, I realized what they'd wanted was a publicity film."[32]
She subsequently co-starred withPeter Fonda in92 in the Shade, also in 1975, a drama directed by novelistThomas McGuane, based on his own book.[35] Kidder then took a hiatus from acting, though she appeared in the March 9, 1975, edition ofThe American Sportsman, learning how tohang glide, and providing the narration, with a remote microphone recording her reactions in flight; the segment concluded with Kidder doing solos soaring amid the Wyoming Rockies.[36] She was also photographed byDouglas Kirkland for the March 1975 issue ofPlayboy, accompanied by an article written by Kidder herself.[37]
In 1977, eager to return to acting, Kidder read for the character ofLois Lane inSuperman: The Movie, only one month before principal photography was scheduled to begin.[15] Kidder was flown to England for screen-tests.[28] Upon meeting with directorRichard Donner, Kidder tripped while walking into the room.[38] Donner recalled: "I just fell in love with her. It was perfect, this clumsy [behavior]."[38] She was ultimately cast in the role, which would become her most iconic.[28] Filming lasted about 18 months.[39]
Superman was released during Christmas 1978 and was a major commercial success, grossing $300 million worldwide.[40] She was deemed "most charming" byVincent Canby inThe New York Times.[41] James Harwood ofVariety said that she "plays perfectly off both of his [Reeve's] personalities and her initial double-entendre interview with Superman is wickedly coy, dancing round the obvious question any red-blooded girl might ask herself about such a magnificent prospect."[42] Sonia Saraiya ofVanity Fair praised her ability to balance Lois's ditzy nature with her ambition and no-nonsense attitude, and wrote: "Kidder played a human woman who could believably both attract and deserve a man who is canonically perfect, with the physique of a Greek god and the moral compass of a saint."[43] For the role, Kidder won theSaturn Award for Best Actress.[44]
After completing filming forSuperman, Kidder starred as Kathy Lutz in the supernatural horror filmThe Amityville Horror (1979), which further cemented her status as one of Hollywood's leading ladies.The Amityville Horror was a major commercial success, grossing over $86 million in the United States, but it received mixed reviews from critics.[45]Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times, though giving the film a mixed review, said Kidder "stubbornly remains the bright-eyed life of the party [in the film]."[46] In retrospect, Kidder called the film "a piece of shit."[28] The same year, Kidder hosted an episode of the American sketch comedy TV showSaturday Night Live.[25]
Kidder reprised her role as Lois Lane inSuperman II (1980), though she publicly disagreed with the decision of producersAlexander Salkind andIlya Salkind to replaceRichard Donner as director.[15][47]Superman II was also a box-office hit, grossing $108 million in the United States.[48] Through her appearances in theSuperman films, Kidder maintained a close friendship with her co-starChristopher Reeve, which lasted from 1978 until his death in 2004: "When you're strapped to someone hanging from the ceiling for months and months, you get pretty darned close," Kidder toldCBS. "He was such a huge part of my life... He was complicated, very smart, really smart, and he knew he'd done something meaningful. He was very aware of that and very happy with that role."[49] Also in 1980, she appeared inPaul Mazursky's romantic comedyWillie & Phil, playing one-third of alove triangle oppositeMichael Ontkean andRay Sharkey.[50]
Kidder starred in the Canadian comedicroad movieHeartaches (1981), portraying a free-spirited woman who helps an acquaintance raise her child.[51]Vincent Canby ofThe New York Times noted: "Nothing happens inHeartaches that isn't telegraphed 15 minutes ahead of time, but Miss Kidder and Miss [Annie] Potts are good fun to watch, not because they convince you of the reality of their characters but because they handle their assignments with such unbridled, comic, actressy enthusiasm."[51] She then starred oppositeRichard Pryor in the comedySome Kind of Hero (1982), about aVietnam War veteran who attempts to re-assimilate into civilian life.[52] While filming the picture, Kidder stated she "fell in love with Pryor in two seconds flat," and the two carried on a relationship during the production.[53] In 1982, she appeared in a stage performance ofBus Stop, playing Cherie oppositeTim Matheson as Bo, which was broadcast onHBO.[54]
Kidder's role in 1983'sSuperman III was notably small, consisting of 12 lines and less than five minutes of footage. This was reportedly a result of her previous objections to Richard Lester replacing Richard Donner as director forSuperman II,[32][55] though the producers have denied this in DVD commentaries. The same yearSuperman III was released, Kidder also starred as a court stenographer-cum-private eye named Mickey Raymond in the comedyTrenchcoat (1983).[56] CriticRoger Ebert disliked the film, deeming it "one of the most tired, predictable, uninteresting movies in a long time."[56] Also in 1983, Kidder produced and starred as Eliza Doolittle in a version ofPygmalion withPeter O'Toole forShowtime.[57]
In 1984, Kidder produced and starred in the French-Canadian period television filmLouisiana as a plantation owner in the American South, who returns from Paris to find her estate and holdings have been lost.[58] Also, she reunited with her formerNichols co-star, James Garner, in the Hollywood crime dramaThe Glitter Dome, and appeared in the dramaLittle Treasure forColumbia Tri-Star, with co-starsTed Danson andBurt Lancaster, in which she played a distraught stripper looking for her bank robber-father's buried fortune.
In 1985, Kidder expressed ambivalence toward continuing her career, and was quoted as saying: "I don't feel comfortable as a performer and I'm a big turkey as a movie star."[32] She stated that the quote was reported out of context, but conceded: "I am in a weird frame of mind at the moment. I know acting is not going to be enough for me for the rest of my life. This business is very hard on women at a certain age, and I never want to end up just having to accept what's offered me. So, I am anxious to direct, to have options."[32]
In 1986, she was selected as the English narrator for the Japanese animated seriesThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In 1987, Kidder reprised her Lois Lane role inSuperman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), which she filmed in 1986.[59]Body of Evidence (1988), aCBSMovie of the Week, cast Kidder as a nurse who suspects that her medical pathologist husband is a serial killer.
In the fall of 1990, Kidder appeared as a singer who becomes a murder victim in the Canadian television filmWhite Room (1990).[60] After her car accident, Kidder returned to the screen with an uncreditedcameo appearance in the comedy filmDelirious (1991),[61] appearing as a woman in a washroom. This was followed by a role as apsychic inTo Catch a Killer (1992), a Canadian television thriller film based on the crimes ofJohn Wayne Gacy.[62] She had several small roles in 1994, including in theDisney Channel filmWindrunner,[63] as well as another uncredited appearance inMaverick.[3] She played a bartender at the Broken Skull Tavern inUnder a Killing Moon, aPCFMV adventure game.[64]
Kidder returned to film with a lead role in the independent comedy-dramaNever Met Picasso (1997), portraying an actress living with hergay adult son (portrayed byAlexis Arquette), who is attempting to sort his life out.[65]Kevin Thomas of theLos Angeles Times wrote, "Arquette and Kidder [were] given the chance to come across as quite appealing" in their roles.[65] She next appeared in the slasher filmThe Clown at Midnight (1998), oppositeChristopher Plummer,[66] and alongsideLynn Redgrave andJames Earl Jones in the romance filmThe Annihilation of Fish (1999), playing the landlady of an interracial couple.[67] Critic Todd McCarthy inVariety referred to the film as a "would-be charmer" and "a drear moment in the careers of all concerned."[67]
In 2000, Kidder played Eileen Canboro inApocalypse III: Tribulation, aChristian film dealing withChristian eschatology and therapture. Kidder stated afterwards that she did not realize until she was on the set that the movie was serious.[68] Also that year she appeared in three episodes ofPeter Benchley'sAmazon, playing a striking role as an insane Canadian woman bent on domination of all the local tribes. In 2001, she played theabusive mother of a murderer in "Pique", an episode ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2002, she appeared alongsideCrispin Glover andVanessa Redgrave in the film adaptation ofCrime and Punishment.[28] Kidder appeared off-Broadway inThe Vagina Monologues in December 2002,[69] and toured with the show for two years.
In 2004, Kidder briefly returned to the Superman franchise in two episodes of the television seriesSmallville, asBridgette Crosby, an emissary of Dr. Swann's (played by herSuperman co-star, Christopher Reeve).[70] After this, she appeared onRobson Arms, a Canadiansitcom set in an apartment block inVancouver's west end. She played a quirky neighbor of the main cast members. She also had a cameo inRich Hall's Election Special onBBC Four. In 2006, Kidder playedJenny Schecter's mother Sandy Ziskin onThe L Word; her character was a repressed Jewish woman coming to terms with her daughter's sexuality.[28] In 2007, Kidder began appearing on the television seriesBrothers and Sisters, playing Emily Craft.
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In 2008, she portrayed an embattled guidance counselor in the gay-themed mystery filmOn the Other Hand, Death, and a supporting role asLaurie Strode's therapist, inRob Zombie'sHalloween II (2009). In an interview with theLGBT publicationThe Advocate, Kidder discussed her later career choices: "I'm not choosy at all! I'll do practically anything. I'm the biggest whore on the block. I live in a little town in Montana, and you have to drag me out of here to get to LA, so I'm not readily available. But unless it's something sexist or cruel, I just love to work. I've done all sorts of things, but you just haven't seen them because they're often very bad and shown at four in the morning."[71]
In 2015, Kidder won anEmmy Award forOutstanding Performer in Children's Programming for her performance inR.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour.[72]
She will appear posthumously in the psychological thrillerRobber's Roost, directed by Galen Rosenthal, which will be her final film role.[73]
Kidder was a longtime supporter of the U.S.Democratic Party and voiced her support forliberal causes throughout her career.[74] She actively supportedJesse Jackson's bid for the Democratic nomination in the1984 and1988 United States presidential election.[75][76] She later endorsedWalter Mondale after he became the Democratic nominee in 1984.[77][failed verification] In the early 1990s, during the firstGulf War, Kidder was branded a "Baghdad Betty" and subjected to abuse for her remarks questioning the war.[78] In a piece called "Confessions of 'Baghdad Betty'", styled as a letter to her mother and printed inThe Nation, Kidder responded by explaining and defending her statements.[79]
In 2008, Kidder was a volunteer at theBarack Obama campaign headquarters inLivingston, Montana.[80]
As of November 2009, Kidder was theMontana State Coordinator forProgressive Democrats of America. The organization's website carried her article "Ax Max", in which she criticizedMax Baucus, Montana'sDemocraticsenator.[81] She also contributed articles toCounterPunch, aleft-wing magazine, beginning in 2009.[82] On August 22, 2015, she was named the host of a dinner event by theYellowstone County Democrats inBillings, Montana, called "Billings for Bernie" in support ofBernie Sanders' presidential primary bid.[83][84] In aCounterPunch article expressing her reaction to the2016 Democratic National Convention, she wrote, "I am not an American tonight... I reject the words I voiced at my citizenship ceremony."[85]
In addition to her campaigning in the United States, Kidder expressed support for liberal causes in Canada. In 2011, she supported her brother, John Kidder, in British Columbia, who was running to be a member of Canada's Parliament for theLiberal Party:[86]
I'm here not only because John is a dream candidate, but because I'm living in the end game in the United States and it's not funny. Canada is starting the same sort of right-wing, corporate ownership of government, corporate tradeoffs with government, smear campaigns, "let's lower the corporate tax rate without mentioning it's going to up the private tax rates." It's happening in Canada. God forbid if anyone should bring up privatizing health care.
Throughout her life, Kidder was also invested in efforts protesting for environmental andantinuclear causes.[87] On August 23, 2011, Kidder,Tantoo Cardinal, and dozens of others were arrested while protesting inWashington, DC, against the proposed extension of theKeystone Pipeline.[88] In 2012, she appeared in a video forStop the Frack Attack, an environmental organization working toward regulatinghydraulic fracturing ("fracking") practices.[89] When discussing sustainable energy, Kidder said: "The first thing people have to start facing, contrary to the advertising fed to us by oil and gas companies, is that environmentalism and economic stability go hand-in-hand on any long-term basis."[13] Kidder spent the winter of 2016–2017 residing in a tent at theStanding Rock Reservation in North Dakota, protesting theDakota Access Pipeline.[90]
In addition to environmental causes, Kidder was a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights, and in 2003, hosted benefits at agay and lesbian health center inBoston, Massachusetts.[91] Following her publicized nervous breakdown in 1996, she also spoke outwardly about her struggles with mental health and her bipolar disorder diagnosis.[14] In 2001, she was awarded the Courage in Mental Health Award from the California Women's Mental Health Policy Council for her public dialogue on mental illness.[14]
Kidder became a United States citizen on August 17, 2005, inButte, Montana, and settled in Livingston.[92] She said that she decided to become an American citizen to participate in the voting process, to continue her protests against U.S.intervention in Iraq, and to be free of worries about beingdeported.[93]
While filming92 in the Shade, Kidder became romantically involved withThomas McGuane, and in March 1975, relocated with him to Livingston, Montana.[15] She subsequently became pregnant and gave birth to their only child, a daughter, on October 28, 1975.[b][96] Kidder and McGuane married on August 2, 1976,[97][98] but the marriage ended in divorce on July 21, 1977.[94][3] During the marriage, Kidder stated that her self-esteem had faltered significantly, and she found maintaining a career in film to be difficult while residing in Montana.[15]
On August 25, 1979, she married actorJohn Heard, but the couple separated only six days into their marriage.[99] Their divorce was finalized on December 26, 1980.[3]
Kidder was romantically linked to Canadian prime ministerPierre Trudeau in the early 1980s.[100]
Kidder marriedPhilippe de Broca in 1983.[32] Her marriage to de Broca lasted one year, ending in divorce in 1984.[99] Kidder later characterized the marriage as "impulsive, I'm afraid. Not a little irresponsible. We just weren't meant to be married to each other."[32]
Kidder received a diagnosis ofbipolar disorder in 1988, which she rejected at the time, and refused the recommendedlithium treatment.[14]
In 1990, while filming the pilot of a proposed television seriesNancy Drew and Daughter, Kidder was in a car crash that injured her spine and left her partially paralyzed.[101][91] She was unable to work for two years, resulting in debts over $800,000.[64] Kidder attempted to sue the Canadian producer,Nelvana, for $1 million in damages, but did not receive a settlement, and launching the suit rendered her ineligible for Canadianworkers' compensation.[91] While convalescing, Kidder said she finally "was able to accept the diagnosis" (of bipolar disorder).[14] She later spoke openly about treatment of her bipolar disorder viaalternative medicine.[102]
In 1996, she experienced amanic episode in Los Angeles.[14][103] At the time, Kidder had been working on an autobiography when her laptop computer became infected with avirus, which caused it to crash and her to lose three years' worth of drafts.[104] Kidder flew to California to have the computer examined by a data-retrieval company that was unable to retrieve the lost files.[104] This prompted her to enter a manic state and she disappeared for four days. She was later found by a homeowner in the backyard of aGlendale residence,[105] and was taken by theLos Angeles Police Department toOlive View–UCLA Medical Center in a distressed state, the caps on her teeth having been knocked out during a rape attempt.[104] She was subsequently placed inpsychiatric care.[104] A computer expert was ultimately able to retrieve much of the data that Kidder had lost on her laptop.[104]
In a 2000 interview, Kidder stated that, in addition to causing emotional distress, her manic episodes had led her to experiencing significant financial woes: "I went through millions of dollars—I have no idea how much. I'd buy things for friends, take people to Paris. Once I stayed up for three weeks in a row because I felt like I was called upon to write a new religion for women. I was reading all these books, including theBible—and I'm anatheist."[106]
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Kidder died on May 13, 2018, at her home in Livingston, Montana, at the age of 69.[107] Her death was ruled asuicide by "self-inflicted drug and alcoholoverdose".[108][109] Kidder had been scheduled to appear at theMotor City Comic Con inNovi, Michigan, later that week.[110]
Kidder's friends related that she had poor health in later years, particularly following her lengthy stay at theStanding Rock protest camp in 2016, often enduring frigid temperatures.[111]DC Comics stated on itsTwitter feed: "Thank you for being the Lois Lane so many of us grew up with. RIP, Margot Kidder."[112][113] After her death, directorTed Geoghegan, who knew the actress, stated:
Margot lived at the foot of Canyon Mountain, right outside of Livingston. Like much of Montana, the mountain was filled withwolves. But instead of fearing them, Margot loved them. She left meat out for the wolves so she could watch them come down the mountain and eat from the safety of her home ... She'd asked her closest friends—if they stopped by her place and found her dead—to tell no one, place her naked body in a bedsheet, drag it up Canyon Mountain, and leave her for her other friends, the wolves.[114]
Kidder's body was cremated, and the ashes were scattered by her brother John in childhood-favorite locations in Canada, as well as in Montana, amongst lilies often eaten by grizzly bears, partially fulfilling Kidder's wish to "have her body just left out there for the bears."[115]
Kidder's most acclaimed films, according to the review-aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes, include:[116]
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action On Film International Film Festival Awards | 2013 | Best Supporting Actress | Real Gangsters | Nominated |
| 2016 | Outstanding Cast Performance | The Red Maple Leaf | Won | |
| Canadian Film Awards | 1969 | Best Actress | Herself | Nominated |
| Special Award | Herself | Won | ||
| 1975 | Best Performance by a Lead Actress | A Quiet Day in Belfast andBlack Christmas | Won | |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | 2015 | Outstanding Performer in a Children's or Pre-School Children's Series | The Haunting Hour: The Series(for "Mrs. Worthington") | Won |
| Fright Meter Awards | 2011 | Best Actress | Love at First Kill | Nominated |
| Genie Awards | 1982 | Best Actress | Heartaches | Won |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | 1999 | Best Guest Actress in a Cable Series | La Femme Nikita | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | 1979 | Best Actress | Superman | Won |
| 1980 | Best Actress | The Amityville Horror | Nominated | |
| 1982 | Best Actress | Superman II | Nominated |
