Wonder Woman
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$10 Million
“Wonder Woman is much more than a cartoon character. She’s fighting for truth and justice and the secret self that exists in all women and girls. There’s a moral fiber and a goodness about her that all women have." Before there was Gal Gadot, there was Lynda Carter. As the lead on the hit television show Wonder Woman, which ran from 1976-1979, Carter became an icon of female power. Since her days playing the Amazonian superhero, this actress, singer and songwriter has become a legend in her own right.
While Carter may have lassoed international fame as Wonder Woman, her list of accomplishments are many and continue to this day. Let’s take a closer look at the inspiring career of this Emmy-Award-winning leading lady.
The Pre-Wonder Woman Days
Lynda Carter was born on July 24th, 1951 in Phoenix, Arizona to Juanita and Colby Carter. Her family also included a brother and sister, Vincent and Pamela. Carter’s heritage is diverse, and she numbers the English, Scots-Irish, Mexican, Spanish, and French among her ancestors.
Music was a huge part of Carter’s childhood. “I grew up in a house filled with music. My mother, who is of Mexican and Spanish descent, used to sing to my English-Irish father, and between the two of them I was introduced to a diverse array of music, ranging from country to blues to classical. I was encouraged to sing since I spoke my first word, and I’ve sung every day of my life since then. And not just in the shower, either! Here is how I started, and all the fun I’ve had singing along the way,” she says.
At the young age of five, Carter made her first television appearance on Lew King’s Talent Show. Her interest in performing continued into high school, where she was in a band called Just Us. At age 16, Carter formed another band, The Relatives, which also included two of her cousins. When the group played at Las Vegas’s Sahara Hotel and Casino, Carter had to enter through the kitchen because she was underage.
After graduating from high school, Carter went on to attend Arizona State. She dropped out to make music, but not before being voted “Most Talented” by her peers. Carter toured with Garfin Gathering on the Nevada “Silver CIrcuit” for two years, but eventually returned home to give acting a go.
Upon returning to Arizona in 1972, Carter won a local Arizona beauty contest. She went on to gain national attention when she represented Arizona in the Miss World USA pageant and won.
Shorty after winning the crown, Carter moved to LA to study acting. In 1976, her life changed forever when she was cast as TV’s Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman was a smash hit, and made Carter a household name. Reflecting on the impact of the role she says, “There is something about the character where in your creative mind for that time in your life where you pretended to be her, or whatever the situation was, that it felt like you could fly.”
From Superhero to Superstar on the Rise
As her acting star rose, Carter was also in great demand for her promotional work. Mostly notably, she signed a modeling contract with Maybelline, and appeared in a Diet 7Up commercial with comedian Don Rickles. In 1978, she was voted “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World’ by the International Academy of Beauty and the British Press Organization. This was a big year for Carter, as it also marked the release of her first solo album, Portrait, which included three songs she composed herself. She even sang two songs from the album in a third season episode of Wonder Woman.
While starring on Wonder Woman, Carter was in great demand. Her many appearances included guest starring on The Jackson Show alongside Michael Jackson and his family; headlining at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; and having her own special on CBS with guest stars Leo Sayer and Kenny Rogers.
Carter continued to enjoy many opportunities in television, film and music after Wonder Woman ended, including other musical television specials, one of which, "Celebration," not only won an Emmy Award, but also earned CBS’s highest ratings of the year.
Other notable acting roles for Carter over the years have included Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess; Partners in Crime; Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All; Super Troopers; The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park; the big-screen remake of The Dukes of Hazzard; and Sky High. Additionally, she recently reunited with her DC Comics film and television family by appearing on the CW’s Supergirl television series. Carter also added other talents to her resume: voiceover and theater work, including her one-woman musical cabaret show, An Evening with Lynda Carter. Today, she continues to pursue her passions while balancing a robust concert schedule with her band, Lynda Carter and her All-Star Band. She also manages to fit in being an activist for feminist and LGBT causes.
Carter has received many accolades over her illustrious career, including being named the Hispanic Woman of the Year in 1983; being honored by the Women in Film and Video of Washington,DC at the 2004 Women of Vision Awards Gala; being presented with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame in 2015; receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award (Gracies) from the Alliance of Women in Television in 2016; receiving the Raúl Juliá Award from the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (NHFA) in 2016; and receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018.
While it’s been nearly 45 years since she first rocked that unmistakable corset, skirt, headpiece and gauntlets, Lynda Carter is as fierce, fabulous and inspiring as ever. It’s not surprising that she’d use her powers for good when asked her opinion of the movie adaptation of Wonder Woman; its director, Patty Jenkins; and star, Gal Gadot. Carter reveals, “After my first conversation with Patty, I felt I had linked arms with a woman I would go through the rest of my life with. And then when I met Gal, I linked the other arm with her. The three of us really understand what being on the inside of Wonder Woman’s skin feels like.”
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