It was announced this evening that popular singer and star of the 1977 film Pete’s Dragon, Helen Reddy has died. Her family made the following statement via the official fan page on Facebook:
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Helen Reddy, on the afternoon of September 29th 2020 in Los Angeles. She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman. Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever.”
The Australia artist rose to fame in the 1970s with her feminist anthem “I Am Woman”, for which she won a Grammy Award. After her career took off in the United States, she received the role of Nora for Disney’s Pete’s Dragon. She made her film debut three years earlier in Airport 1975. She mostly gave up acting following Pete’s Dragon but was a guest star in the third season of The Muppet Show and occasionally made appearances on television.
A recent film about her life, also titled I Am Woman, was just released on demand in the US. The film is directed by Unjoo Moon and stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey as Reddy.
An official cause of death was not released, though she had been battling dementia in recent years. Here at The DisInsider, our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this time.
