Charlie's Angels
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$90 Million
"I have had to learn about saying no." The reason Jaclyn Smith has needed to learn that is because she's been in such demand throughout her career. If she didn't say no sometimes, she'd never have the time to do the things that were most important to her. It all started with a simple television commercial for Breck shampoo in 1969. From that point, she continued to do commercials and take small roles where she could until, in 1976, she was cast in Charlie's Angels.
She stayed with that series for its entire run, and she was the only female lead to do so. While it didn't necessarily make or break her career, it definitely made a difference in the level of opportunity she had both during and after the show's run. But the show ended in 1981, and that was a long time ago. What has Smith being doing since then, and what was she doing before her iconic role on the TV show? We've got all the answers right here.
Growing Up as a Southern Girl
Smith was born in Houston, Texas, and attended Trinity University where she majored in drama and psychology. After a year at school she moved to New York and attended the Balanchine School of American Ballet. Soon she started working in print ads for Listerine and television commercials for Breck Shampoo. She was offered a role on a daytime TV series, but turned it down in 1968. She has said, "Success is carved out of a hard tree. It doesn't just happen. It's people who stick to it that succeed." She stuck to acting, and has done much more than just the Charlie's Angels role that many people remember her for.
In addition to that role, she was in the TV movie Escape from Bogen County (1977). Then in 1978 she took a leading role in The Users, where she starred with John Forsythe and Tony Curtis. She was in Nightkill (1980) with Robert Mitchum, and after Charlie's Angels was cancelled in 1981 she took the lead role in the television movie Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981). For that role, she earned a Best Actress nomination. In 1983, Smith played Jennifer Parker in Rage of Angels, another made-for-TV movie. She reprised the role in the sequel in 1986.
The success of Charlie's Angels often overshadows much of what else Smith has done, but that series is far from her only claim to fame. She was fortunate to get into a highly rated series early in her career, but it may be what she's done since the series ended that's really most important to her. Family, friends, movies, TV, and other valuable areas of life were all explored by Smith after Charlie's Angels ceased production. With other cast members leaving and being replaced, the series eventually lost the spark and chemistry it had enjoyed in the first season.
The addition of Cheryl Ladd to replace Farrah Fawcett after the first season was a good one, and Ladd remained part of the cast all the way through until the series ended after five seasons. But once Kate Jackson left the series, producers struggled to find another actress that fit the part and the role as well. They had trouble locating someone who kept the same chemistry, and the series underwent too many changes for it to remain viable for Smith and the others. Eventually, the series was cancelled due to a drop in ratings, but by then Smith already had plenty of other work to focus on.
She's More Than Just Charlie's Angel
After Charlie's Angels came to an end, Smith appeared in a number of other miniseries and made-for-TV movies throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. These included Florence Nightingale (1985), Windmills of the Gods (1988), The Bourne Identity (1988), and Family Album (1994). Additionally, she starred in Deja Vu (1985), which was a feature film directed by Tony Richmond, to whom Smith was married at the time. IN 1989, Smith received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Acting has been her passion throughout life, but she has also moved into the business and fashion worlds with her designing. A collection of women's apparel can be found at Kmart, and Smith was a pioneer for the endorsement of her own brand instead of endorsing for other people or companies. She also moved from clothing only into designing bedding and bath accessories through a line that was also carried at Kmart stores. She launched her wig line for Paula Young Wigs in 2008.
Her personal life has been rich and full, just like her acting life. She has been married four times, and has publicly stated that she may have married too hastily at times. But that she did not believe in just living together. In 2003, Smith successfully battled breast cancer and has been in remission since that time. She was featured in a documentary about the disease in 2010, but doesn't let the fact that she is a cancer survivor affect how she lives her life. Instead, her focus remains on her family, her clothing and accessory lines, and the values that she has regarding her work and her contribution to the world.
About her fashion line, Smith has said, "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." It's clear that Smith has never been afraid to make her own way, and that she sees the value in getting things done. From her earliest shampoo commercials to her clothing and accessory lines for a major yet affordable retailer, Jaclyn Smith has shown the world that she's far more than just one of Charlie's Angels.
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