Jaclyn Smith Biography: In Her Own Words – Exclusive Video, News, Photos, Age

Jaclyn Smith is an American actress and designer. She is best known for her role in Charlie’s Angels, her Kmart fashion and skincare lines.

JACLYN SMITH BIOGRAPHY: AGE, EARLY LIFE, FAMILY, EDUCATION

Jaclyn Smith was born on October 26, 1945 (Jaclyn Smith: age 77) in Houston, Texas. Her parents were Margaret Ellen (English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh heritage) and Jack Smith (of Russian-Jewish heritage). In 1964 she graduated from Mirabeau B. Lamar High School and went to study psychology and drama at Trinity University. After one year she transferred to Balanchine School of American Ballet.

Her first acting roles consisted of modeling for commercials and ads, including Listerine and Breck Shampoo in 1971. A few years later she joined her future co-star Farrah Fawcett as a spokesmodel for Wella Balsam Shampoo. Her first movies consisted of Goodbye, Columbus (1969), The Adventurers (1970), Probe (1972) and Bootleggers (1974) before starting her role as Kelly Garrett in Charlie’s Angels.

In her exclusive interview with uInterview, Smith discussed how she got started on the hit TV show. “I had done Switch with Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert and I had a semi-regular role and oddly enough, RJ [Wagner] had an interest in Charlie’s Angels and Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts who were the producers of our pilot said we like the girl on Switch, even though they wanted a redhead because it was to be a blonde, a brunette and a redhead thinking it covered all the bases and women in the world which was a little crazy. Even though I didn’t have red hair, I got the part. I went in a read among a lot of other actresses, not giving particularly the best reading of my career. They had seen Switch and said, ‘This is the girl,’ and that’s how I got it.”

JACLYN SMITH BIOGRAPHY: CHARLIE’S ANGELS

Smith started her role as Kelly Garrett on March 21, 1976, alongside her co-stars Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. In the show, the three women work as private investigators for a mysterious multi-millionaire who runs the Townsend Associates detective agency. Charles Townsend, voiced by John Forsythe, would give his “Angels” their missions via speakerphone. The Angels were sometimes assisted by their male colleagues, played by David Doyle and David Ogden Stiers.

Smith revealed in her interview that the network was not always so sure about the potential of the show.

“At the very beginning, the network had no respect, trust, or faith in anything we did,” Smith said. “So, at that point they tested shows. And it tested through the roof before it even aired, and the network, the heads of the network said, ‘That’s a fluke, that couldn’t be. This is fluff and has no value.’ So they tested it again and it was even higher. And they kept doing that even after our pilot aired and we took the time slot. They insisted on testing it again. And then finally, they said, ‘You know what, we must have been wrong.’ And finally, the Angels had a seat at the table and we had a voice.”

After the pilot’s success, the series first aired on September 22, 1976, and ran for five seasons.

In Smith’s opinion, a big part of the success was due to the tight friendship the three women had. She saw this most in her favorite moment from the series.

“I think the ‘Angels in Chains’ in the first season where we were all chained together,” the actress told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “We couldn’t fluff our hair or put on lipstick. We were just there and the show went really quickly because no one could run to the motorhome. We were just such good friends and we knew at that point we had a hit show, and I think a hit show is rare.”

JACLYN SMITH BIOGRAPHY: JACQUELINE BOUVIER KENNEDY

In 1981, Smith starred in the titular role in the made-for-tv movie Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy with James Franciscus playing John F. Kennedy.

“It was very daunting at first because she was so familiar pictorially to us and we heard her voice,” Smith said. “I love history and it’s my favorite role of all because I admired her. I admired the way she ran her life. I admired her as a mother. I admired her later when she worked when she didn’t have to work. She got out and made a difference and continued to go in new directions as an editor for Double Day and bringing in books.”

In 1982 Smith received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

JACLYN SMITH BIOGRAPHY: FASHION, WIG & SKINCARE LINE

When first offered the opportunity by Kmart to open her own fashion line, Smith said no as she had never even shopped at the store. Kmart invited her to the store to look at the lines they had. She was amazed at the lines they could produce at that price point.

“So I thought long and hard, I took it on, 35-36 years later, here I am,” she said. “Now I’m designing another line. And it couldn’t have been a more wise decision. I learned so much, it was an education. I learned about the mass market. I was able to give back to all those people who had supported me because my clothes have always been about quality and value so you don’t have to spend a fortune.”

Her fashion line can now be found at Nordstrom Rack.

As a breast cancer survivor, Smith had seen women lose their hair from the chemo and it made her think about the coinciding loss of femininity and the need for wigs. Smith noted, “Wigs can be a necessity for a person with alopecia or a person going through chemo or it can be a fashion statement—a change, you know, an enhancement to your own looks to try a different color or different style so when they approached me I thought wigs were important. I’d love to do it.”

Smith’s skincare line started with her husband, Brad Allen, looking at the products she was using and breaking down and enhancing the ingredients. “He continues to make it better and better. I love it,” she said.

In the interview, she goes on to list some of her favorites, such as her sunscreen, hyaluronic acid and retinol – all of which she says keeps you looking young.

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