Christopher Reeve is dead.

The actor who became famous playing Superman, then turned into an icon for quadraplegics after he was left paralysed by a 1995 riding accident, died of a heart attack at his home on Sunday night.

He was 52.

BBC reported Reeve's publicist Wesley Combs saying the actor fell into a coma on Saturday after suffering a heart attack at his New York home.

Reeve had a severely infected pressure wound, which is a common ailment among paralysed people.

After he broke his neck in May 1995 -- he was thrown from his horse -- Reeve was left paralysed below the neck.

But he refused to accept his disability quietly. He underwent months of painful physiotherapy, which enabled him to breathe longer without his respirator, move his index finger, and regained movement in some of his limbs.

In a statement to the media, Reeve's wife Dana, who the actor acknowledged has been a huge source of support, said: 'I want to thank his personal staff of nurses and aides as well as the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years.'

External link: More about Christopher Reeve