In this Spotlight feature, we will feature biographies of all 6 ladies that starred on the ABC television show Charlie’s Angels from 1976-1981. This will be done in the order that the actresses were cast on the series.
This isn’t just a series of biographies. Within the biographies are details pertaining to the creation of the show. As well as behind-the-scenes events of Charlie’s Angels via the biographical entry that the information applies to.
You’ll also learn that Jaclyn Smith had connections to both Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson. Either through modeling or by being the spouse of a cast member on a hit daytime television show. This was prior to the conception of Charlie’s Angels.
Kate Jackson
Lucy Kate Jackson was born on October 29, 1948, in Birmingham, Alabama. Jackson attended college at the University of Mississippi as well as Birmingham Southern College. However, she failed to graduate from either school.
Jackson was bitten by the acting bug early on, and after an apprenticeship at the Stowe Playhouse in Stowe, Vermont, the aspiring actress headed to New York City to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
While going to school she worked at NBC as a page and tour guide. She routinely auditioned for roles around town. Her big break came in 1970, when she was cast as Daphne Harridge on the ABC soap opera Dark Shadows. A role that lasted 71 episodes. The following year she played Tracy Collins in the movie Night of Dark Shadows.
“I left my mark on ‘Dark Shadows.’ One day I was doing my lines perfectly from Act 3. Everyone else was doing Act 2.”
– Kate Jackson
In 1972, Jackson was cast as Nurse Jill Danko on the ABC police show The Rookie, which ran for 4 seasons. This show was a Spelling/Goldberg production. In her contract, she was obligated to star in another television series for Spelling/Goldberg Productions upon that show’s cancellation.
The show they pitched was called The Alley Cats and it was about 3 women that would fight crime in back alleys with whips and chains. Goldberg and Spelling wanted Jackson for the lead. The actress wasn’t crazy about the name, as well as some of the series’ outlandish concepts.
She suggested the title “Angels” after noticing a picture of three angels hanging in Aaron Spelling’s office. That soon switched to Harry’s Angels and the concept was updated to include a millionaire boss who owned a detective agency and often aided them in their assignments.
ABC decided to move ahead with the pilot solely based on these changes. However, they wanted the name changed to Charlie’s Angels so as to not confuse the audience with another show in production, Harry O.
Leonard Goldberg wanted her to play Kelly Garret, who was the pilot episode’s main character. However, after reading the script, Jackson requested to play another Angel, Sabrina Duncan. Her request was granted.
In 1979, after 3 years of involvement with the show, things began to get rocky with the producers of Charlie’s Angels and Jackson. Jackson was already having on-set problems with Cheryl Ladd, who had replaced Farrah Fawcett on the series two years earlier.
Jackson was offered the role of Joanna Kramer in Kramer vs. Kramer. But Aaron Spelling would not accommodate changes to the shooting schedule in order to give her time off to do the film. This role which would of course go to Meryl Streep, who would win her first of several Oscars in the role.
Kate Jackson was starting to become extremely vocal and displeased about the poor quality scripts that she was receiving during the shows third season season. The actress would later state publicly:
“The scripts are so light it would take a week to get to the floor if you dropped it from the ceiling.”
The combination of the perceived poor script quality as well as losing out on the Kramer vs. Kramer role caused Jackson to become nasty and belligerent on the set. She was fired by Spelling at the end of the 3rd Season.
In 1983, Jackson returned to television with Scarecrow and Mrs. King, which was developed by her production company Shoot The Moon Productions. This was co-owned by her then-husband, David Greenwald. The couple divorced the following year, after two years of marriage.
Jackson had previously been married to Stella Stevens’ son, Andrew. However, that marriage fell apart quickly when Jackson accused Stevens of being less than frugal with her Charlie’s Angel’s paychecks.
During the filming of the final season of Scarecrow and Mrs. King in 1987, Jackson was diagnosed with breast cancer. She kept the news a secret from everybody but the show’s producer. She would film her scenes while taking painkillers and radiation treatment. Jackson would battle breast cancer, and win, a second time in 1989.
“All women should understand that a mammogram is nothing to be afraid of. It’s not an enemy but a friend. Early detection is the key to the cure.”
– Kate Jackson
While recovering from Cancer, Jackson met Tom Hart. Hart was the owner of a Utah ski lodge. The pair married in 1991, and would be divorced 2 years later. Jackson has not appeared in a film or television show since 2009.
Farrah Fawcett
Spelled “Ferrah” on her birth certificate, Farrah Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on February 2, 1947. Her mother made up the name Farrah because she felt that it went well with Fawcett.
In High School, Fawcett was voted “most beautiful” in each of her 4 years of attendance. In 1965 she attended the University of Texas, where she was voted one of the “10 most beautiful coeds on campus.”
A Hollywood agent named David Mirisch saw Fawcett’s pictures and began to contact her about moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in modeling. After two years of being pestered by Mirisch, Fawcett agreed. She moved to Hollywood in the summer of 1968.
Once Fawcett arrived in Hollywood, Screen Gems signed her to a $350 per week contract. She got her start by appearing in commercials for such products as Noxzema, Max Factor, Mercury cars, and Beautyrest mattresses.
“Looking a certain way is a blessing and a curse.”
– Farrah Fawcett
Fawcett’s earliest roles on television were guest appearances on shows such as The Flying Nun and I Dream of Jeannie. During this period the actress began to date the popular actor Lee Majors.
Fawcett also appeared on Getting Together, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Mayberry R.F.D., The Dating Game (featuring a strange, staged fistfight), S.W.A.T., and The Partridge Family.
Fawcett’s early film roles were the 1969 French romantic drama Love Is a Funny Thing as well as the sex-change comedy Myra Breckenridge the following year. In 1973 she married Majors. She would go on to appear on his show The Six Million Dollar Man a total of four times.
Fawcett would also have a recurring role on Harry O. On it she played Sue Ingram, a stewardess that lived next door to the titular character. The show was canceled soon after she began to appear, and she was only in three episodes.
In 1976, shortly after the cancellation of Harry O, Pro Arts Inc. pitched the idea of a poster of Fawcett to her agent, which she agreed to. A photo-shoot was set up with photographer Bruce McBroom. For the photo-shoot, Fawcett styled her own hair and did her makeup, allegedly without the aid of a mirror.
“I don’t think an actor ever wants to establish an image. That certainly hurt me, and yet that is also what made me successful and eventually able to do more challenging roles.”
– Farrah Fawcett
Fawcett selected her 6 favorite pictures from 40 rolls of film. The choice was eventually narrowed to the one that became the most iconic and bestselling poster of all time. Because of the popularity of that poster, Fawcett scored a role in Michael Anderson’s science-fiction movie Logan’s Run (1976).
Fawcett and Majors often played tennis with producer Aaron Spelling. This connection helped Fawcett land the role of Jill Munroe in Spelling’s upcoming made-for-TV movie/series pilot, Charlie’s Angels. This was a movie of the week that aired on March 21, 1976, on ABC.
The Charlie’s Angels series proper was formally debuted on September 22, 1976. Each of the three actresses was launched into super-stardom. But it was Fawcett who was by far the most popular. That year she won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Performer in a New TV Program.
“When the show was number three, I thought it was our acting. When we got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra.”
– Farrah Fawcett
Despite the huge success of the show, Fawcett earned far more in royalties from poster sales than from her salary for appearing in Charlie’s Angels. In the spring of 1977, Fawcett left Charlie’s Angels after only one season.
the actress had never officially signed her series contract with Spelling. This was due to protracted negotiations over royalties from the use of her image in peripheral products. This would lead to a messy and expensive lawsuit filed by Spelling and his company when she quit the show.
As a result of leaving her contract four years early, Fawcett signed a new contract with ABC, stating that she would make six guest appearances on Charlie’s Angels over a two year period. Fawcett and Majors split up in 1979 when she got involved with actor Ryan O’Neal. They wouldn’t divorce until 1982.
Fawcett made a few flops after leaving Charlie’s Angels, including Saturn 3 (1980), Sunburn (1979) and Somebody Killed Her Husband (1978). Her biggest success came in the movie and play versions of Extremities. Her performance received critical acclaim, including a Golden Globe Nomination for the 1986 movie version.
Three years later, Fawcett would receive another Golden Globe nomination for The Burning Bed. In total, the accomplished actress would be nominated six times for this award during her lifetime.
“I thought Marilyn Monroe was the most beautiful woman in the world and Elizabeth Taylor breathtaking. But when I see myself on the screen I say: ‘Oh shoot! What are they talking about?'”
– Farrah Fawcett
In 1997, Fawcett would pose for Playboy at the age of fifty. In 2006, the actress would be diagnosed with anal cancer. She would succumb to the disease on June 25, 2009, at the too young age of 62.
Jaclyn Smith
Jacquelyn Ellen Smith was born in Houston, Texas on October 26, 1945. She attended Trinity University in San Antonio in 1964, but dropped out after a year to study ballet at the Balanchine School of American Ballet in New York City.
Smith transitioned to acting while in New York City, and was offered the role of Victoria Winters on Dark Shadows in 1968, which she reportedly turned down. Although she didn’t end up on the series, she was married to Roger Davis, who was a regular on the series for the better part of a decade.
By the early 1970s, Smith had become a spokesmodel for both Breck and Wella Balsam shampoos. Her co-star on Charlie’s Angels, Fawcett, had also done some modeling for the latter shampoo brand.
“Angels are like diamonds. They can’t be made, you have to find them. Each one is unique.”
– Jaclyn Smith
By 1976, Smith had relocated to Los Angeles, and was mistakenly (and fortunately), given the opportunity to audition for Charlie’s Angels. Spelling and Goldberg were intent on casting a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead for the series.
Since Jackson and Fawcett were already on board, the role of Kelly Garrett had to be filled by a redhead. Several hundred actresses auditioned for the role, The only non-redhead was Smith, who ended up with the coveted role due to her charisma and chemistry with Jackson and Fawcett.
Although Smith was the last Angel to be cast, she was the only original one to remain on the show for its entire duration. After Charlie’s Angels ended in 1981, Smith appeared in many television movies including George Washington (1984), The Night They Saved Christmas (1984), and The Bourne Identity (1988).
In 1985 Smith became an entrepreneur by launching a fashion line sold at K-Mart. She cultivated this business into several others. The latest being the STYLE by Jaclyn Smith wig collection for Paula Young Wigs, in 2008. Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 and like Jackson, she beat it.
“I was the first actress who branded her own line at a time when everyone just lent their name to a product. Everyone said I shouldn’t do it, but it was probably the best thing I’ve ever done.”
– Jaclyn Smith
“Chemotherapy isn’t easy. I felt very fortunate I wouldn’t have to go through that.”
– Jaclyn Smith
Smith has been married to her fourth husband, Brad Allen, a cardiothoracic surgeon, since 1997. Prior to this she was married to actor Dennis Cole. Cole had appeared in a few episodes of Charlie’s Angels. She was also married to cinematographer Anthony Richmond (Legally Blonde), for eight years.
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor was born in Huron, South Dakota on July 12, 1951. After nineteen uneventful years, Stopprlmoor headed west, with ambitious dreams of becoming a professional singer.
“My mother, grandmother and older sister all cooked, so it was hard to get into the kitchen. So I have no talent for cooking. I was always out in the garage with my dad. I have a tool belt. I’m a repair chick.”
– Cheryl Ladd
In 1970 Stopprlmoor moved to Hollywood. She dropped her last name adopting “Moor” in its place. Early gigs hadf included the singing voice of Melody on Hanna Barbara’s Josie and the Pussycats.
“I drew a line for myself…never dated anyone that could hire me when I was first in Hollywood, and I think that kept me focused on what I was there to do and how I wanted to go about it. I took it a step at a time.”
– Cheryl Ladd
Moor had once again changed her last name, this time to “Ladd,” when she got married to David Ladd in 1973. Ladd began to be cast in commercials and single-episode bit parts on television shows such as The Rookies, The Partridge Family, Police Woman, and Happy Days.
Her big break in acting came when Farrah Fawcett quit the mega-hit series Charlie’s Angels in 1977, after only one season. Producers had noticed Ladd, and pursued her for a screen test, but she was not interested. Eventually, she relented and was cast. Ladd portrayed Kris Munroe, the sister of Fawcett’s character Jill.
During this time she utilized her fame to land a guest spot on Carol Burnett, release some music that sold fairly well, and sing at the Super Bowl. She remained on Charlie’s Angels until it ended in 1981. Her first marriage ended around this time, and she married music producer Brian Russell soon after.
Throughout the next several decades Ladd has kept busy in her career. During the 1980’s the actress and singer was a fixture in made for television movies. She would star in over thirty of them.
Ladd has also been in her fair share of movies (Millennium and Poison Ivy) on TV with recurring roles in Las Vegas and The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, as well as many guest appearances on various shows. On Broadway, Ladd starred in the titular role of a revival of Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun.
She published a children’s book in 1996 titled The Adventures of Little Nettie Windship. An avid golfer, Ladd also published Token Chick: A Woman’s Guide to Golfing With the Boys, an autobiographical book that focused on her love of golf in 2005. Ladd is also a celebrity ambassador for the child abuse prevention and treatment non-profit Childhelp.
“There hadn’t been a show like this on the air [with] three powerful women who had the latest hairdos, wore the coolest clothes and could walk around in a bikini. We were very inspirational to a lot of young women. Young women would write us and say, ‘I want to be like you. I want to be a cop when I grow up and taking chances to be something else other than the acceptable school teacher or secretary’.”
– Cheryl Ladd
Shelly Hack
Shelley Marie Hack was born in Greenwich, Connecticut on July 6, 1947. Her mother was a model, and by the time Shelley was a teenager, she had decided to enter that field as well, following in her mothers footsteps.
Her big modeling break came in the mid-1970s when Hack was cast as “The Charlie Girl” for Revlon’s “Charlie” perfume ads. Her first movie role came in 1977, with a 30-second appearance in Annie Hall.
“It was a time when women were changing. Women looked at (the ads) and said ‘I want to be like that.'”
– Shelly Hack
When Kate Jackson was fired from Charlie’s Angels, Hack won the coveted role of Tiffany Wells. She beat out Barbara Bach, Connie Sellecca, Shari Belafonte, and Michelle Pfeiffer in the casting process. Spelling loved the gimmick of casting “The Charlie Girl” as one of Charlie’s Angels.
After an initial spike, the casting choice of Hack had delivered a blow to the ratings of the series. Although it was still a top 20 show, Charlie’s Angels was a far cry from being consistently in the top 10 anymore. In February 1980, Hack was released from the show.
“They can say I didn’t work out, but it isn’t true. What happened was a network war. A business decision was made. Change the timeslot or bring on some new publicity. How to get publicity? A new Angel hunt. Who is the obvious person to replace? I am—the new kid on the block.”
– Shelly Hack
After leaving the series Hack appeared in The King of Comedy (1983), Troll (1986), and The Stepfather (1987). Hack married director Harry Winer (Spacecamp) in 1990. The couple owns the production company, Smash Media.
Tanya Roberts
Victoria Leigh Blum was born in New York City on October 15, 1955. Blum’s grandfather, Theodor Blum, had been one of the first dentists to use X-Ray’s and local anesthesia in the field of dentistry.
While pursuing an acting career in New York in 1974, she met Barry Roberts while in line for a movie. They married soon after and remained together until his death in 2006. Throughout the late 1970s, Roberts appeared in commercials for Excedrin and Clairol, as well as movies including Fingers (1978) and Tourist Trap (1979).
“What I really want is a commercial hit. If you’re in a hit, you’re suddenly a star, whether you acted well or not.”
– Tanya Roberts
In the Summer of 1980, Roberts was cast as Julie Rogers, the latest Angel, beating out over 2,000 other hopefuls for the role. Ratings plummeted and the show was canceled with Nielsen ratings falling from 12 to 59. Roberts appeared in Beastmaster (1982) as well as Sheena (1985) and A View To a Kill (1985). She passed away on January 21, 2021.
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