Annette O'Toole played Lana Lang, the girl Clark Kent left behind in his youth, in the big-screen feature Superman III. Now she appears in her second role in the Superman saga, playing Martha Kent, adoptive mother to teenage Clark Kent in the action-adventure series Smallville.
A talented songwriter as well as an accomplished actress, O'Toole and her husband Michael McKean were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the feature film A Mighty Wind.
Born in Houston, O'Toole started dancing at the early age of three. At thirteen, her family moved to Los Angeles and she began taking acting lessons. Her first big break came when she starred in the 1975 feature film Smile, as a conniving beauty pageant contestant. Since then, O'Toole has appeared on the big screen in 48 Hrs, Cat People, Cross My Heart and Love at Large.
She was nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of Rose Kennedy in the television miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts. Her numerous television movie credits include The War Between the Tates, Stand By Your Man, Love for Rent, A Girl of the Limberlost, The Entertainer, It and Jewels.
Dividing her time between stage and screen, O'Toole has performed in Vanities, Yankee Wives and Sun Bearing Down.
O'Toole currently lives in Los Angeles with her family.