Dana Reeve, the widow of the late "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve, died Monday of lung cancer at the age of 44, seven months after being diagnosed .
Dana Reeve was a celebrated singer and actress.
She won worldwide admiration for the support of her late actor-husband, who was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident in 1996 and died in 2004.
She became the Chairperson for The Christopher Reeve Foundation after her husband's death and she fought for better treatments and possible cures for paralysis.
Dana Reeve said in November that she was able to keep her spirits up because she "had a great model. … I was married to a man who never gave up."
A statement from the Board of Directors of Christopher Reeve Foundation read:
"We are extremely saddened by the death of Dana Reeve, whose grace and courage under the most difficult of circumstances was a source of comfort and inspiration to all of us.
Dana will always be remembered for her passion, strength and ceaseless courage that became her hallmark. Along with her husband Christopher, she faced adversity with grace and determination, bringing hope to millions around the world."
Former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton described Reeve as "a model of tenacity and grace" and an "inspiration to us."
"Despite the adversity that she faced, Dana bravely met these challenges and was always an extremely devoted wife, mother and advocate," they said in a statement Tuesday.
She was a woman with an incredible heart, a woman with a strong passion to help in the causes she believed and an unflinching optimist.
Her lung cancer and now her departure has brought the issues of cancer to the American radar screen, seeking answers. She never smoked in her life. As we know, passive smoking, i.e., inhaling other peoples smoke can be equally as dangerous as far as the risk of leading to disease is concerned.
The world needs more good people to step out and help in such causes as what the Reeves have done, to fight against disease, and make the world a safer place to live in.
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