Jaclyn Smith

Smith began dancing at the age of three and initially dreamed of becoming a professional ballet dancer. She studied drama at Trinity University, where she appeared in productions of Bye Bye Birdie, West Side Story and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, before leaving Texas to pursue a career as a dancer in New York.

An agent encouraged her to pursue work in front of television cameras, leading to commercials and modeling work. In 1973, she became the Breck Girl, and her work with Wella Balsam and Max Factor followed. While associated with Max Factor, she developed the fragrance Jaclyn Smith’s California, which won an award for best mass-produced fragrance when it launched in 1989.

In 1976, Smith was cast as private detective Kelly Garrett in Charlie’s Angels. The series premiered on ABC on September 22, 1976, and became an immediate hit. Smith remained with the program throughout its five-season network run from 1976 to 1981, making her the only original Angel to do so.

Smith became close to Farrah Fawcett while working on the series. They had first met while making a Max Factor commercial and shared a Texas background. Smith also worked with Kate Jackson on Charlie’s Angels, and the three actresses later supported one another during their experiences with cancer.

She returned as Kelly Garrett in an uncredited cameo for Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle in 2003, offering advice to a new generation of Angels. She was the only actress from the television series to appear in either of the film adaptations.

Following Charlie’s Angels, Smith built a career in television movies and miniseries. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy in the 1981 television film Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, a role that brought her acclaim and reinforced her reputation as the “Queen of Mini-Series.”

Her later television work included Rage of Angels, George Washington, Rage of Angels: The Story Continues, The Bourne Identity, Windmills of the Gods and Family Album. She identified the title role in Florence Nightingale as one of her favorite performances.

Smith later played district attorney Vanessa Cavanaugh on The District and appeared in Ordinary Miracles, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Bridal Wave. She also hosted Bravo’s competitive reality series Shear Genius in 2007 and 2008. In 1989, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 1985, Smith introduced a collection of women’s clothing and accessories through Kmart. The partnership came before celebrity fashion lines became commonplace and helped establish her name as a consumer brand rather than solely as an endorsement.

Her later product lines expanded into home textiles, bed and bath décor, outdoor living, home furnishings and seasonal items. She also created STYLE by Jaclyn Smith hair fashions with celebrity hairstylist José Eber and Paula Young, launching the collection in 2008.

In 2010, Smith collaborated with her husband, physician and medical researcher Dr. Brad Allen, to develop cleansers, moisturizers and protective skincare products. She launched another clothing line in 2022, with the collection made available through Nordstrom Rack and HSN.