While she may not have been one of the originals, Cheryl Ladd will forever be known as one of Charlie’s Angels, a show that would catapult her to stardom and fame early in her career. Though she’s still out and about in Hollywood, she hasn’t made too many headlining appearances lately.
Born to a waitress mother and railroad engineer father as Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor in 1951. The youngest of two, Cheryl would grow up in her birthplace, not leaving until after graduating high school to pursue a music career. With a pretty voice and the looks to match, Ladd didn’t take long to make an impression.
Starting With A Song
She managed to make waves as part of a different trio of girls for her first big role, lending her pipes to the music in the animated series Josie and the Pussycats. By 1970 she had the show and an accompanying soundtrack album under her belt and started to get noticed for more than just voice acting.
The exposure from Josie would elevate Cheryl Ladd in the public eye, leading to guest spots alongside everyone from Kermit the Frog to the Fonz. Her star power would continue rising even higher until in 1977 she was contacted with an offer that would change her life.
Charlie’s Angels
Charlie’s Angels had run for one season, becoming iconic thanks to the story, acting, and looks of the leading ladies in the spy comedy. While a centerpiece of the show, Farrah Fawcett would decide to leave after just one season to pursue her movie career, going on to even more fame. Cheryll Ladd would be brought in to round out the trio after Fawcett’s exit, playing her character’s younger sister.
Cheryl Ladd would kick ass as Kris, the newest of Charlie’s Angels, for four seasons until the series ended in 1981. Even with the busy schedule of filming the show and backstage politics, she still managed to get other roles on the side, starring in multiple made-for-television movies and dipping a toe back into her music career. With the end of Charlie’s Angels, a new beginning on television began for Ladd.
After Charlie’s Angels
Television films would be the bread and butter of most working actresses throughout the 80s and 90s, with Cheryl Ladd being no exception. Starring in at least one a year from 1983 onward, Cheryl made the rounds between television and the big screen throughout the next two decades, some better than others. The television movies were more plentiful, but she did have a few acclaimed roles in features like Millenium and Poison Ivy alongside both a young Drew Barrymore and Leo Dicaprio in 1992.
The 90s and 2000s carried on the status quo for Cheryl, still moving between television and features while also making time for guest spots on shows like CSI: Miami. She even had a chance to play herself in an uncredited cameo for the musical satire Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, now a cult classic itself. Cheryl Ladd would also take on her first recurring television role since Charlie’s Angels with the 2003 series Las Vegas, playing the character Jillian on the primetime drama.
Her role in Las Vegas would only last until the show ended in 2009, but she still takes on television movies today, starring in mostly Hallmark Christmas and movies of that nature for the last decade. While she’s slowed down in the film industry, Cheryl Ladd has taken up other interests and hobbies in the meantime.
Hole in One
Discovering a love for the game of golf, Ladd became an avid participant, putting on her own golf tournaments and playing whenever she had free time. This would lead to publishing an autobiography that almost completely bypassed her acting career and was more of a novel about her massive love and appreciation for whacking a small ball across a field.
What is Cheryl Ladd Doing Now?
Today Cheryl still plays golf, acts in the occasional television film or guest role, and speaks out on behalf of charities helping abused and neglected children. Most recently she was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, though she would only make it to the third round before being eliminated.
While she may be in a state of semi-retirement, turning seventy-two in only a few short months, Ladd still takes time out to speak to her old co-Angels, often reminiscing about the show and her time on it, as well as writing children’s books and for some reason, owning a home construction company based in San Antonio, Texas. Cheryl regularly updates fans on both her personal site and Instagram pages.
Cheryl’s personal life has been much less hectic than her public life, with the actress settled in and still married to her husband of over thirty years, music producer Brian Russel. The two married in 1981, just a year after Cheryl’s divorce from her husband of eight years, David Ladd. While the two had one daughter together, popular scream queen actress Jordan Ladd, she would welcome Russel’s daughter into her family as well when the two married.
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