Noel Neill

Noel Darleen Neill (born November 25, 1920) is an American actress in motion pictures and television. She is best known for her portrayal of Lois Lane in the film serials Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950), as well as the 1950s television series Adventures of Superman. Over the decades, she has appeared in various productions of the Superman franchise, often playing the parent or other relative of one of the main characters, including the 1978 Superman feature film, the 1980s TV series Superboy, the 1990s primetime drama Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; and in the 2006 film Superman Returns.

Early life

Noel Darleen Neill was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Neill; her father was a journalist, and her mother a dancer on the stage. When she was 4 years old, she enrolled at "a school for aspiring performers." While still in her teens, "she danced, sang and even played the banjo at county fairs throughout the midwest." She graduated from high school in 1938. She earned her first money by writing articles for Women's Wear Daily.