Good morning, angels! Fans of the hit series, Charlie’s Angels will remember Jaclyn Smith for her portrayal of Kelly Garrett in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Making a name for herself outside of the small screen, Jaclyn Smith has certainly kept herself busy. Keep reading to find out what she’s been up to since Charlie’s Angels went off the air.
Background Info
Jaclyn, whose real name is spelled Jacquelyn, was born on October 26, 1945, in Houston, Texas. Though information about her mother, Margaret, isn’t available online, her father, Jack, was a dentist.
She attended Mirabeau B. Lamar High School in Houston and graduated in 1964. Upon graduation, she enrolled at Trinity University in San Antonio, but she dropped out after a year to pursue ballet. As such, she moved to New York and enrolled in the Balanchine School of American Ballet.
Jaclyn’s career shifted from dancing to acting in the late 1960s and early 1970s, landing a role in The Adventurers, The Partridge Family, Bootleggers, and McCloud. Though most of these roles were either uncredited or bit parts, she started also landing print ads and television commercials around this time, including advertisements for Breck shampoo and Listerine.
These bit roles continued through the early to mid-70s, and included Get Christie Love!, The Rookies, and Switch. However, her big break came in 1976 when she landed the coveted role of Kelly Garrett in Charlie’s Angels.
Charlie’s Angels
The first episode of Charlie’s Angels premiered on the ABC network on March 21, 1976. Initially, it premiered as the movie of the week. However, it wouldn’t be until September 22, 1976, that the series would make its official debut.
The series followed private investigators working for the fictional Townsend Associates, who fought crime and found themselves in many volatile situations. The organization was owned by Charles Townsend (Charlie), a multi-millionaire voiced by John Forsythe, whose face was never shown on TV.
It starred Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Farrah Fawcett, as the crime-fighting angels, however, Fawcett departed at the end of season one and was replaced with Cheryl Ladd.
Kelly Garrett – the character Jaclyn Smith played in the series – was an orphan who, as an adult underwent police training. Skilled in armed combat, she was a well-rounded individual who was thought to know how to surf, pilot a yacht, drive a dune buggy, and more. After Charlie passed away, she became the new head of the Townsend Agency.
In total, Smith appeared in 110 episodes until the show ended in 1981.
What Did Jaclyn Smith Do After Charlie’s Angels?
Jaclyn’s career continued after Charlie’s Angels ended. In 1981, she originated the role of Jacqueline Kennedy in the TV movie, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in a lot of TV movies and mini-series, including Rage of Angels, George Washington, Florence Nightingale, The Bourne Identity, and Settle the Score.
Also during this time, she started to develop her own brand of clothing and perfume. Her new clothing line – the Jaclyn Smith Collection – hit Kmart shelves in 1985 and is often credited with pioneering the wave of celebrities creating their own brands – something that is still just as popular today.
In addition to creating her fashion empire, Jaclyn continued acting through the 1990s, starring in Family Album, Married to a Stranger, Free Fall, MADtv, and Becker. In 2003, she reprised her role of Kelly Garrett and made a cameo in Charlie’s Angeles: Full Throttle, starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu. She took a bit of a hiatus in the mid-2000s to treat breast cancer but started acting again in the 2010s, appearing in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Bridal Wave, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
What is Jaclyn Smith Doing Now?
She reprised her role of Kelly Garrett again in the 2019 remake of Charlie’s Angels, making her the only original cast member to appear in any of the remakes.
Jaclyn is interviewed from time to time, most recently on uInterview – a popular YouTube channel – where she discussed her favorite scenes from Charlie’s Angels, as well as the history of her foray into acting, examples of sexism portrayed on the show, and her relationship with fellow angels.
As of publication, new items from the Jaclyn Smith Collection will soon be available online, including new jewelry designs, shoes, purses, and skincare. In February 2023, she posted a video to her Instagram, teasing these future designs.
You can follow Jaclyn on her Instagram at @realjaclynsmith. She posts regularly, including dedications to her friends, updates on her clothing line, throwbacks to Charlie’s Angels, and sweet updates about her family.
Personal Life
Jaclyn has been married four times. She was married to Roger Davis from 1968-1975, Dennis Cole from 1978-1981, and Tony Richmond, with whom she had two children with (Gaston in 1982 and Spencer Margaret in 1985) from 1981 – 1989.
She later went on to meet and marry Barry Allen, a cardiothoracic surgeon based out of Houston, Texas. The pair have been together since 1997.
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