Oct 17, 1948

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

Born Margaret Ruth Kidder to Jill Kidder and Kendall Kidder, a mining engineer, in
Yellowknife, Canada, on October 17, 1948, Margot was a delightful child who took
pride in everything she did. At an early age she became aware of the great emotions
she felt towards expressing herself, and caught the acting bug. As a child she
wrote in a diary that she wanted to become a movie star, and that one day it would
happen, but she had to overcome something else first. She was aware that she was
con... ... (read more...) stantly facing mood swings, but wasn't aware why. At odd times she would try to
kill herself - the first time was at age 14 - but the next day she would be just
fine. Her father's hectic schedule and moving around so much didn't help matters,
either, causing her to attend 11 schools in 12 years. Finally, in an attempt to
help Margot with her troubles, her parents sent" her to a boarding school, where
she took part in school plays, such as Romeo and Juliet", in which she played the
lead.

After graduation Margot moved to Los Angeles to start a film career. She found
herself dealing with a lot of prejudice, and hotheads, but later found solace with a
Canadian agent. This was when she got her first acting job, in the Norman Jewison
film Gaily, Gaily (1969). This led to another starring role in Quackser Fortune Has
a Cousin in the Bronx (1970), in which she co-starred with Gene Wilder. After some
harsh words from the film's director, Margot temporarily left films to study acting
in New York, doing television work to pay her bills, but when the money ran out, she
decided it was time to make a second try at acting. When she arrived in Hollywood
she met up at a screen test with actress Jennifer Salt, resulting in a friendship
that still stands strong today. Margot and Jennifer moved into a lofty beach house
and befriended other, then unknown, struggling filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese,
Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg and Susan Sarandon, among others. Late nights would
see the hot, happening youngsters up until all hours talking around a fire about how
they were all going to change the film industry. It was crazy living and within the
Christmas season, Margot had become involved with De Palma, and as a Christmas
present he gave her the script to his upcoming film Sisters (1973). Margot and Salt
both had the leads in the film, and it was a huge critical success.

The film made branded Margot as a major talent, and in the following years she
starred in a string of critically acclaimed pictures, such as Black Christmas
(1974), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), 92 in the Shade (1975) - directed by Thomas
McGuane, who was also her husband for a brief period - and a somewhat prophetic tale
of self-resurrection, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975).

After three years of being a housewife, looking after her daughter Maggie and not
working, Margot decided it was time to let her emotions take control and get back
into acting. Once her marriage to McGuane was over she eyed a script that would
change her life forever. Her new agent hooked her up with a little-known director
named Richard Donner. He was going to be directing a film called Superman (1978),
and she auditioned for and secured the leading female role of Lois Lane. That film
and Superman II (1980) were to be filmed simultaneously. After the success of
"Superman" she took on more intense roles, such as The Amityville Horror (1979) and
Willie and Phil (1980). After that, Margot did numerous films, television and
theater work throughout the 1980s, including Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
(1987). When the 1990s erupted with the Gulf War, Margot found herself becoming
involved in politics. She made a stir in the biz when she spoke out against the
military for their actions in Kuwait. She also appeared in a cameo in Donner's
Maverick (1994).

In 1996, as she was preparing to writer her autobiography, she began to become more
and more paranoid. When her computer was infected with a virus, this gave her
paranoia full rein, and she sank into bipolar disorder. She panicked, and the
resulting psychological problems she created for herself resulted in her fantasizing
that her first husband was going to kill her, so she left her home and faked her
death, physically altering her appearance in the bargain. After an intervention took
place, she got back on her feet and started the mental wellness campaign. Since then
she has sustained her career in film, television, and theater, recently appearing in
a Canadian stage production of "The Vagina Monologues".