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Many famous female stars that you’ve seen over the years got their start in beauty pageants which really help to give them the exposure it takes to become a star. During the 1970s and 1980s, one of those stars that got her start in pageants was Jayne Kennedy. She was able to make herself a fine acting career after appearing in pageants, as well as doing some sportscasting for America’s most popular game. Now in her late 60s, Kennedy doesn’t do much acting anymore, but is still living life to the fullest.

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Kennedy was born as Jayne Harrison in Washington, D.C. on October 27, 1951, though spent a good portion of her childhood living in Ohio. Kennedy was an excellent student while growing up, and eventually became a pageant queen after high school, participating in the Miss USA contest after winning Ohio’s pageant. At the time, Kennedy was married to actor Leon Kennedy, and started her career in acting.

“Don’t confuse not wanting to be a beauty pageant winner with not wanting to be in the entertainment industry,” Kennedy said. “They’re two completely different animals. To me, the trails that I’ve blazed and the pioneering aspects of what I did in the 1970s came from moving to Hollywood and deciding that to succeed, I’d have to meet as many people as I could and do as many things as I could. There were no avenues at that particular time for a black actress other than the handful of black pictures that would come up - probably one or two every three or four years.”

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Kennedy made her debut in the 1973 film “Group Marriage”, and that same year also appeared on television for the first time with a role on the series “Ironside”. Over the next couple of years, Kennedy would continue to guest star in shows such as “Sanford and Son” and “The Six Million Dollar Man”.

Guest roles continued to be the standard for Kennedy throughout the rest of the 1970s. She had appeared in shows including “The Rockford Files” and “Wonder Woman”, and had films “The Muthers” and “Fighting Mad” to round out the decade. Kennedy kicked off the 1980s with roles on “CHiPs” and “The Love Boat” before earning her most prominent role in 1981. This is when she starred in the film “Body and Soul”, earning Kennedy the NAACP Image Award for best actress.

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Kennedy supplemented her career by also getting into sportscasting around this time. She joined the studio show “The NFL Today” on CBS each Sunday morning to discuss the games that would take place that day. “When I found out ‘The NFL Today’ had an opportunity, I was excited,” Kennedy said. “First of all, I’d always loved football…After I graduated high school, I did some (public relations) work for the Cleveland Browns. So sports had always been a huge part of my life. I knew I could do the job, and I knew it would have been a passion project for me; to be able to work with all of these sports figures who had been my heroes.”

Despite having such a strong performance in “Body and Soul” and having a career in sportscasting, Kennedy didn’t continue acting much afterward. She had guest roles on “Diff’rent Strokes”, “Benson” and “227” and ended the 1980s with a guest spot on “Throb”. Since 1988, Kennedy’s only acting role came in the 1993 film “Night Trap”. During this time, Kennedy also had a fitness career, releasing “Love Your Body” and another exercise program in 1985.

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Sadly, much of Kennedy’s career was derailed due to health issues. “In the early 1980s I had an exercise video called ‘Love Your body’ with music by the Commodores, which was third in the market after Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons,” Kennedy said. “I had a contract with Coke for Tab and Diet Coke. We did the tie-in with fitness and diet drinks. Everything was going so well. Then quickly, it got to a point where I couldn’t even do a sit-up. The pain was so debilitating.”

It turned out that Kennedy was suffering from endometriosis, which landed her in the hospital for multiple days. “I was in pain all the time,” Kennedy said after being diagnosis. “Sometimes I would be standing in the kitchen, lift the top off a pot and pains came in my stomach. They were not dull aches, they were all sharp pains. It was difficult to walk and certainly almost impossible to exercise.”

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Thankfully, Kennedy has been able to remove herself from the pain of her disease, but does offer up some advice to those that have been diagnosed. “Don’t believe everything you hear, and don’t take anything for granted,” she said. “A lot of women have pain, and they’re having total or partial hysterectomies for the wrong reasons. If you have symptoms of pain around your ovaries, have it checked out for endometriosis. Find out if it’s endometriosis before you take any steps.”

Kennedy has also been able to talk about her career in her later years. “For me, it was never about the way I looked, about wanting to be famous or being a celebrity,” she said. “If I could have worked without fame and celebrity, that would have been the ultimate.” She didn’t see all of the success coming, though. “I always wanted to be in show business, telling everyone that I was going to Hollywood and be a movie star,” she said. “I had no idea how that was ever going to happen.”