Lindsay Wagner
Wagner at the San Diego Comic-con, 2008
Born	Lindsay Jean Wagner (1949-06-22) 22 June 1949 (age 63) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1971–present
Spouse	Allan Rider (1971–1973) Michael Brandon (1976–1979) Henry Kingi (1981–1984) Lawrence Mortorff (1990–1993)

Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman (for which she won an Emmy award), though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.

Early life[link]

Wagner was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Marilyn Louise (née Thrasher) and William Nowels Wagner.^[1] When she was seven years old, her parents divorced and her mother moved with her to the northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock, near Pasadena. Another move with her mother and stepfather (Ted Ball) brought her to Portland, Oregon, where she attended David Douglas High School and appeared in a number of school plays. She studied at the University of Oregon.

Career[link]

Wagner worked as a model in Los Angeles, and gained some television experience by appearing as a hostess in Playboy After Dark. In 1971, she signed a contract with Universal Studios and worked as a contract player in various Universal productions. Her prime-time network television debut was in the series Adam-12, and she went on to appear in a dozen other Universal shows including Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The F.B.I., Sarge, and Night Gallery. Between 1971-75, she appeared in five episodes of Universal's Marcus Welby, M.D., and two episodes of The Rockford Files. In 1973, Wagner branched into film roles when Universal cast her in Two People (Wagner's first feature film and first lead role). She also starred in the film The Paper Chase (for Twentieth Century Fox) the same year.

In 1975, still under contract to Universal, Wagner played the role of Jaime Sommers, a former tennis pro who was the childhood sweetheart of Six Million Dollar Man, Steve Austin (played by Lee Majors). In a two-part episode entitled "The Bionic Woman", Jaime was critically injured in a skydiving accident and, at Steve's request due to his love for her, she was equipped with bionic implants similar to his own (with the exception of his bionic eye, as Jaime was equipped with a bionic ear instead). Jaime's body rejected her new bionics which ultimately led to her death. According to Kenneth Johnson, interviewed for "Bionic Beginnings", a featurette included in the 2010 North American DVD release of The Bionic Woman Season 1, Wagner was cast in the role based upon her appearance on The Rockford Files.

This was intended to be Wagner's last role under her Universal contract, but public response to the character was so overwhelming that Jaime was "brought back to life" (it was discovered that Jaime hadn't really died but had been put into cryogenic suspension until she could be cured). She next appeared in a two-part episode of The Six Million Dollar Man entitled "The Return of the Bionic Woman", and soon after in her own spin-off series, The Bionic Woman, which debuted in January 1976. Like Steve, Jaime became an agent for the U.S. Government agency, the O.S.I., though, suffering from amnesia, she could not remember her love for Steve. However, the two would team up for several crossover episodes throughout the series' run. The role earned Wagner an Emmy Award for "Best Actress in a Dramatic Role" in 1977.

Following the cancellation of The Bionic Woman in 1978, Wagner continued to act, predominantly in television mini-series and made-for-TV movies. These included the highly rated 1980 mini-series Scruples, as well as three made-for-TV Bionic reunion movies with Lee Majors between 1987 and 1994. Also in the 1980s, Wagner co-starred alongside Sylvester Stallone as his ex-wife in his 1981 movie Nighthawks and starred in two more weekly television series; Jessie (1984) and A Peaceable Kingdom (1989), though both of these were short-lived. In 1983, she also appeared in an episode of Lee Majors' series, The Fall Guy.

Wagner continued to act in the 1990s and 2000s, though in less prominent roles, such as a small part in the action movie Ricochet (1991). Her most recent projects have included the 2005 telemovie, Thicker than Water with Melissa Gilbert, Buckaroo: The Movie (2005), and Four Extraordinary Women (2006). In 2010, Wagner began a recurring role as Dr. Vanessa Calder in the SyFy channel's hit drama Warehouse 13, and played the character again in its SyFy sister show Alphas in 2011.

Other work[link]

In 1987, Wagner wrote a series of books with Robert M. Klein about using acupressure to achieve results akin to a surgical facelift. Wagner appeared in commercials as a spokesperson for Ford Motor Company and also appears in infomercials for Select Comfort's "Sleep Number" beds.

More recently, Wagner has given seminars and workshops for her self-help therapy, "Quiet the Mind and Open the Heart", which promotes spirituality and meditation. In 2010, she participated in interviews and featurettes included in the long-delayed North American DVD releases of The Bionic Woman and the 2011 release of The Six Million Dollar Man.

Personal life[link]

Prior to being married, Wagner lived with Capt. Daniel M. Yoder (USAF), until he went to Vietnam. She has been married four times. From 1971–73, she was married to music publisher Allan Rider. From 1976–79, she was married to actor Michael Brandon. In 1981, she married stuntman Henry Kingi whom she met on the set of The Bionic Woman. Wagner had two sons with Kingi; Dorian (b. 1982) and Alex (b. 1986), but the couple divorced in the late 1980s. Wagner then married TV producer Lawrence Mortorff in 1990, but they too divorced a couple of years later.

Dallas star Linda Gray was once married to Wagner's uncle, Ed Thrasher. Wagner and Gray also played romantic rivals in the television movie The Two Worlds of Jenny Logan (1979).

Wagner is on the board of directors of the charitable organization Teen Talking Circles Project^[2] (formerly The Daughters Sisters Project) and is an active supporter of Girls Talking Circles.

Filmography[link]

Books[link]

• High Road to Health: A Vegetarian Cookbook by Lindsay Wagner and Ariane Spade (1994) ISBN 0-671-87277-X
• Lindsay Wagner's New Beauty: The Acupressure Facelift by Lindsay Wagner and Robert M. Klein (1987) ISBN 0-13-536806-5
• 30-Day Natural Face Lift Program by Lindsay Wagner and Robert M. Klein (1988) ISBN 0-86188-779-4

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lindsay Wagner at the Internet Movie Database
• Lindsay Wagner's Official Fan Club
• Fanland of Lindsay Wagner
• http://www.lindsaywagner.com
• http://www.peacemakerscommunity.com/
• The Bionic Woman Files
• http://www.lindsaywagnerinternational.com

Lynda Carter
Born	Lynda Jean Carter[1] (1951-07-24) July 24, 1951 (age 60) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, songwriter
Years active	1974-present
Known for	Wonder Woman, (1975-1979).
Spouse	Ron Samuels (1977-1982) (divorced) Robert A. Altman (1984-present) 2 children

Lynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress and singer, best known for being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman (1975–77) and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (1977–79).

Early life[link]

Carter was born Lynda Jean Carter in Phoenix, Arizona.^[1] Her father, Colby Carter, is an art dealer of Irish English descent and her mother, Juana Córdova, is of Mexican Spanish descent with roots in Chihuahua, Mexico, with her Spanish roots most likely of Basque origin.^[2] and previously worked in the telephone industry.^[3] Lynda speaks fluent Spanish.^{[citation needed]} Carter grew up an avid reader of the Wonder Woman comic books. She went to Arcadia High School in Phoenix and Kachina Elementary School in Glendale, Arizona.

During high school, Carter performed in a band called Just Us, consisting of a marimba, a conga drum, an acoustic guitar, and a stand-up bass played by another girl. When she was 17, Lynda joined two of her cousins in another band called The Relatives. Actor Gary Burghoff was the drummer. The group opened at the Sahara Hotel and Casino lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada, for three months; and, because Lynda was under 21, she had to enter through the kitchen. She attended Arizona State University and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. After being voted "Most Talented," she dropped out to pursue a career in music. In 1970, Carter sang with The Garfin Gathering with Lynda Carter. Their first performance was in a San Francisco hotel so new that it had no sidewalk entrance. Consequently, they played mostly to the janitors and hotel guests who parked their cars in the underground garage. She returned to Arizona in 1972.

Career[link]

In 1972, Carter entered a local beauty contest and gained national attention in the United States by winning Miss World USA, representing Arizona;^[3] in the international 1972 Miss World pageant, representing the U.S., she reached the semi-finals. After taking acting classes at several New York acting schools, she began making appearances on such TV shows as Starsky and Hutch, Cos, and Nakia and in "B-movies," including her only nude appearance, in Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976).

[edit] Wonder Woman

Carter's acting career took off when she landed the starring role in The New Adventures of Wonder Woman as Wonder Woman and her alter ego Diana Prince. The savings her parents had set aside for her to pursue acting in Los Angeles were almost depleted, and Carter was close to returning to Arizona when her manager informed her that she had won the part. Her earnest performance endeared her to fans and critics, and the series lasted three seasons. Thirty years after first taking on the role, Carter continues to be closely identified with Wonder Woman.

As the program was winding down, Carter told US magazine:

"I never meant to be a sexual object for anyone but my husband. I never thought a picture of my body would be tacked up in men's bathrooms. I hate men looking at me and thinking what they think. And I know what they think. They write and tell me."

She was referring to the feedback she had received for her poster as Wonder Woman.^[4]

Carter was also upset with some of the marketing of her image. Warner Bros. worked out a deal with the toy company Mego to create a Wonder Woman doll while the series was still on the air. In 1987, on The Late Show with Joan Rivers,^[5] Carter commented:

"I think that you're probably familiar with a problem in Hollywood, and that is that they market you, and they use you. They did a mask of my face and put it on the doll, and they put my name on for the first run of it. And then they took my name off and said they didn't have to pay me anymore. So it's the kind of thing that you can be used so much in this industry. I make nothing. I don't even make anything from the reruns. Don't ever settle for net profits. It's called creative accounting."

In 1985, DC Comics named Carter as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for her work on the Wonder Woman series.^[6] In 2007, toy company DC Direct released a 13" full-figure statue of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, limited to 5,000 pieces;^[7] it was re-released in 2010.^[8] Also in 2010, DC Direct began selling a 5½-inch bust of Carter's rendition of Wonder Woman to celebrate the DC Comics' 75th anniversary.^[9]

Other credits[link]

During the late 1970s, Carter recorded an album, Portrait. Carter is credited as a co-writer on several songs, and she made numerous guest appearances on variety television programs at the time in a musical capacity. She also sang two of her songs in the 1979 Wonder Woman episode, "Amazon Hot Wax".

In 1977, Carter released a promotional poster through Pro Arts Inc. at the suggestion of her then-husband and manager, Ron Samuels. The poster was very successful despite Carter's dissatisfaction with it. In 1981, during an interview on the NBC television special Women Who Rate a 10, she said:

"It's uncomfortable because I just simply took a photograph. That's all my participation was in my poster that sold over a million copies was that I took a photograph that I thought was a dumb photograph. My husband said, 'Oh, try this thing tied up here, it'll look beautiful'. And the photographer said 'the back-lighting is really terrific'. So dealing with someone having that picture up in their... bedroom or their... living room or whatever I think would be hard for anyone to deal with."^[10]

In the early 1980s, Carter performed on the Las Vegas Strip and in Atlantic City, highlighting her musical talent.

Carter's other credits include the title role in a biopic of actress Rita Hayworth, titled Rita Hayworth, Love Goddess (1983) and a variety of her own TV specials: Lynda Carter's Special (1980), Encore! (1980), Celebration (1981), Street Life (1982), and Body And Soul (1984). She starred in a few short-lived TV series, including Partners in Crime (1984) with Loni Anderson and Hawkeye (1994–95) with Lee Horsley. During this time, she also became a celebrity promotional model for Maybelline cosmetics commercials.