The world lost another of the true greats yesterday when singer, actress, and feminist icon Helen Reddy passed away at the age of 78. Reddy wrote the song that became the anthem for the women's movement in the 1970s with "I Am Woman" and now she is being remembered by the people whose lives she touched with her work, including actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
Jamie Lee Curtis took to Twitter to share a video fo the 2017's Women's March where she introduced Helen Reddy who performed her iconic song, "I Am Woman." Curtis called the opportunity the "honor of my life."
"I Am Woman" was one of three number one hits that Helen Freddy scored in her career, the others being "Delta Dawn" and "Angie Baby." Reddy also had a number of film roles in her career including playing Sister Ruth in Airport '75 as well as the mother figure of Nora in Disney's original Pete's Dragon in 1977.
In addition to appearing in film, Helen Freddy was also the subject of one, the biopic IAm Woman was a production of Reddy's Native Australia that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019 before being released in Australia last month.
The comments to Jamie Lee Curtis's post are full of remembrances of Helen Reddy and her music. It's clear that the singer's work meant a lot to a lot of people.
While singing was certainly Helen Reddy's primary career, she was no stranger to the big or small screen. She had guest appearances on shows like The Love Boat and Fantasy Island and even added her voice to Family Guy on more than one occasion. But her most well-known role might be that of Nora in Disney's original Pete's Dragon. While the movie wasn't exactly a smash hit in its day, it was memorable enough to be worthy of getting the recent Disney remake treatment, and I'm guessing it's been viewed more than a few times on Disney+. It also gave Helen Reddy an opportunity to do what she did best and sing.
Helen Reddy was a singer and an icon and for a women's movement that has seen renewed energy in recent years, the loss is going to be felt that much harder. It would not be surprising to see "I Am Woman" become popular again as a way of remembering Helen Reddy as the women's movement continue to move forward. The woman may be gone but her voice will always be remembered.
