Angel Kelly Garrett

Background:

Golden Globe-nominated American actress Jaclyn Smith reached television stardom with her role as sexy female crime fighter Kelly Garrett in producer Aaron Spelling’s smash hit television series, “Charlie’s Angels” (ABC, 1976-1981), a role she later reprised for a short cameo in the 2003 Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle feature film. A queen of the miniseries during the early to mid 1980s, she further established her TV career with performances in Escape from Bogen County (1977), Rage of Angels (1983), “George Washington” (1984), Florence Nightingale (1985), Windmills of the Gods (1986), Robert Ludlum’s “The Bourne Identity” (1986) and Settle the Score (1989). Additionally, Smith received a Golden Globe nomination after playing the title character in the ABC TV film Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981). More recently, she portrayed Vanessa Cavanaugh on several episodes of the CBS series “The District” (2002-2004) and Judge Kay Woodbury in the television film Ordinary Miracles (2005). On the movie front, Smith has appeared in several films, including Nightkill (1980) and Déjà vu (1985).

Off screen, one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” (1990) and a former model, Smith has designed and endorsed her own line of clothing at K-Mart since 1985. Since its debut, the Jaclyn Smith Collection has sold more than 300 million units, making her the first celebrity to launch a popular fashion collection. Currently, she also sells watches, shoes and accessories. On a more personal note, in August 2002, the 5’ 7” tall actress underwent a lumpectomy and radiation treatment for breast cancer. Currently, she is doing fine.

Smith has been married four times. She was married to actors Roger Davis from 1968 to 1975 and Dennis Cole from 1978 to 1981. In 1981, she married director Tony Richmond, but they divorced in 1989, after having two children. She is currently the wife of surgeon Brad Allen, whom she married in 1997.


Three-time Divorcee

Childhood and Family:

In Houston, Texas, Jacquelyn Ellen Smith, who would later be famous as Jaclyn Smith, was born on October 26, 1945, to Jack Smith, a Roman Catholic Irish dentist, and Margaret Ellen Hartsfield. Her maternal grandfather was a Methodist minister. After graduating from high school, she attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, to study drama. She later moved to New York City to try her luck in acting and modeling.

At age 21, on November 21, 1968, Jaclyn married actor Roger Davis, but they later divorced in 1975. She next married actor Dennis Cole on October 29, 1978, but they divorced in 1981. Shortly after, Jaclyn tied the knot with her third husband, filmmaker Tony Richmond, and together they welcomed their two children, Spencer Margaret and Gaston. The two divorced in 1989 after eight years of marriage. She found a new love with Brad Allen, a pediatric heart surgeon, and the couple married on October 11, 1997.


Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy

Career:

Houston native Jaclyn Smith originally wanted to become a ballerina before eventually heading to New York City to pursue modeling and acting. She joined regional theater and performed in plays like “Bye, Bye Birdie,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “West Side Story.” Her first taste in front of the film camera arrived in 1969 when she was featured as a model in the comedy Goodbye, Columbus. She began appearing in commercials the following year. In 1973, she enjoyed success as the prototypical “Breck Girl” in a number of print and TV campaigns for Breck hair care products.

Smith went on to appear in films like The Adventurers (1970) and Bootleggers (1974) before making guest appearances on a variety of TV series. She appeared as Jackie Rogers in two episodes of NBC’s “McCloud” (1973-1975), Sari Lancaster in an episode of ABC’s “Get Christie Love” (1975) and Ali in three episodes of CBS’ “Switch” (1975), which starred Robert Wagner. Impressed by Smith’s performance, the seasoned actor suggested the up-and-coming actress for a role in a new all-female detective series called “The Alley Cats,” which was later renamed “Charlie’s Angels.” Executive produced by Aaron Spelling, the show debuted on television in 1976 to unbelievable success. As the intelligent, lovely Kelly Garrett, one of the three private detectives (also starring Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Kate Jackson), she became an instant star and went on to enjoy mainstream success until the show came to an end in 1981.

While her career sky-rocketed, Smith had to face several failures in her married life. She, however, maintained to effectively balance family and work. While starring on the popular ABC show, she took on the starring role of Maggie Bowman in the CBS TV movie Escape from Bogen County (1977), which became a “TV Movie of the Week” and starred with Tony Curtis and Red Buttons in the TV version of Joyce Haber’s The Users (1978). She also landed her first lead role in a movie, costarring with Robert Mitchum, in the suspense thriller Nightkill (1980). Although the film was considered a disappointment, it did give Smith enough opportunity to impress critics.

After the demise of “Charlie’s Angels,” Smith made a name for herself with her starring turn in the blockbuster television biopic Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (ABC, 1981). For her fine effort, she was handed a 1982 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV. The TV film became one of TV’s highest rated. She earned additional popularity for starring in such successful TV films as Sidney Sheldon’s Rage of Angels (1983) and Windmills of the Gods (1986), the based-on-history Florence Nightingale (1985), the suspenseful drama Settle the Score (1989), and in several TV versions of Danielle Steel novels. She also stood out as Sally Fairfax in the miniseries “George Washington” (1984) and Marie St. Jacques in the Robert Ludlum suspense thriller miniseries “The Bourne Identity (1986, with Richard Chamberlain). With her outstanding achievement, Smith was unofficially named the “Queen of the Miniseries” in the early to mid 1980s.

Smith revisited the wide screen in 1985 when her then-husband Tony Richmond cast her in the dual role of Brooke and Maggie in the suspense thriller Déjà vu, adapted from a book by Trevor Meldal-Johnsen. She then returned to series TV to star as Christine Cromwell in the 1989 mystery television series of the same name. Although the show had a short life, she went on to pick up roles in TV films and was seen in the NBC drama/thriller In the Arms of a Killer (1992), Family Channel’s Married to a Stranger (1997) and the CBS drama Three Secrets (1999). She also made guest appearances in many TV series.

After recovering from breast cancer, Smith joined the cast of CBS’ series “The District” in the recurring role of Vanessa Cavanaugh. She played the role of Craig T. Nelson’s love interest from 2002 until 2004. She also guest starred in two episodes of “Hope & Faith” (2004), as Anne Osvath, and starred as Judge Kay Woodbury in the excellent TV family Ordinary Miracles (2005), alongside Lyndsy Fonseca and C. Thomas Howell. On the big screen, Smith’s coveted Kelly Garrett made a cameo appearance in the sequel film Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003).


Awards:
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