Cheryl Ladd

Cheryl Ladd was an American film and TV actress who was best known for her role as the crime-fighting private investigator Kris Munro on "Charlie's Angels" (ABC, 1976-1981). Born and raised in Huron, South Dakota, Ladd had a normal childhood: she was a standout cheerleader in high school, and also worked as a waitress at the local diner. Ladd's striking beauty, however, was already evident by the time she entered her teens. So rather than stay in her small hometown, she packed her bags and moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in music. Ladd quickly landed a role as the voice of Melody Valentine on the musical animated series "Josie and the Pussycats" (CBS, 1970-71). Despite the show only lasting a season, Ladd quickly found herself landing more TV guest spots on popular shows like "The Partridge Family" (ABC, 1970-74) and "Happy Days" (ABC, 1974-1984). With her acting career taking off, Ladd promptly put her music aspirations on hold. Her big break came in 1977 when she was cast as Kris Munro in the popular action series "Charlie's Angels." Ladd joined the show in the second season, right after Farrah Fawcett left to purse a film career, and stayed in the cast for the remaining four years. Although her acting career never quite equaled the success of time spent on "Charlie's Angels," Ladd continued acting nabbing parts in both movies and TV shows well into the 2010s. In 2016 she returned to TV with a recurring part on the popular Ryan Murphy drama "American Crime Story" (FX, 2016-). Ladd played defense attorney Robert Shapiro's wife, Linell, on the series, which chronicled the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial.