Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer and author. Ladd is best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the television series Charlie's Angels, hired amid a swirl of publicity prior to its second season in 1977 to replace the departing Farrah Fawcett-Majors. Ladd remained with the show for the rest of its run, which ended in 1981.
Personal life
Ladd was born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor in Huron, South Dakota, the daughter of Dolores (née Katz), a waitress, and Marion Stoppelmoor, a railroad engineer.1 She married fellow actor David Ladd, son of the famous actor Alan Ladd, with whom she had a daughter, Jordan. She took his surname as her own, which she kept after their divorce. She has been married to music producer Bryan Russell since 1981, and has a stepdaughter, Lindsay Russell. Ladd is a celebrity ambassador for the child abuse prevention and treatment non-profit Childhelp. In an interview, Ladd told the TBN network that she is a born again Christian.
Career
Ladd intially came to Hollywood in 1970 to begin a career in music (she was known as "Cherie Moor" when she was the singing voice of Melody on Hanna-Barbera's Josie and the Pussycats animated series). She soon began to land non-singing roles in commercials and episodic television - including guest appearances on shows such as The Rookies, The Partridge Family and Happy Days - which became the focus of her career throughout much of the decade until her role in Charlie's Angels. That series made her an overnight star, and Ladd took the opportunity of her sudden popularity to further pursue her musical interests, guest-starring in musical-comedy variety series and specials, performing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl XIV in January 1980, and releasing three albums, enjoying a Top 40 Hot 100 single and a Gold record. In September 2000, Ladd starred on Broadway, taking over the title role from Bernadette Peters in a revival of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun. She played the role until January 2001, when Reba McEntire took over.
Following Charlie's Angels, Ladd remained a familiar face on television and has starred in more than 30 made for television movies, including a coveted role as Grace Kelly, the Philadelphia heiress who became a Hollywood glamour girl and then a European princess, in a biopic that was begun shortly before Kelly's death. She also starred in feature films such as Purple Hearts, Millennium, Poison Ivy (featuring Drew Barrymore, who later starred in the film adaptions of Charlie's Angels) and Permanent Midnight. Ladd had the lead role in the television series One West Waikiki (1994-96), and made guest appearances in other TV shows such as Charmed, Hope and Faith and CSI:Miami. From 2003 until the show's cancellation in 2008, Ladd played Jillian Deline, the wife of the lead character Ed Deline (James Caan), in 28 episodes of the television drama Las Vegas.
In 1996, Ladd published a children's book, The Adventures of Little Nettie Windship. In 2005, she published Token Chick: A Woman’s Guide To Golfing With The Boys, an autobiographical book which focused on her love of golf. For several years, Ladd hosted a golf tournament sponsored by Buick.
Discography
- Josie and the Pussycats (1970)
- Cheryl Ladd (1978) - The single "Think It Over" peaked at #38 on the Billboard music chart in the United States. The track "Walking In The Rain" was used as an ending song for Charlie's Angels in Japan and was released as a single, while the song "I'll Never Love This Way Again" was recorded by Dionne Warwick the following year.
- Dance Forever (1979) - The title track was also the closing theme of Charlie's Angels in Japan and was released as an EP, while the song "Where Is Someone To Love Me" was the theme of a Japanese whisky TV commercial featuring Ladd herself.
- Take a Chance (1981, in Japan)
- You Make It Beautiful (1982, mini album in Tokyo, Japan)
Television credits
As Cheryl Stoppelmoor/Cherie Moor
As Cheryl Ladd
Filmography
References
External links
![Clip Cheryl in the "Angels in Springtime" episode from Season 3. Video](/viewVideo.html?title=Cheryl Ladd How Cute is She?&videoType=YouTube&summary=Cheryl in the "Angels in Springtime" episode from Season 3.&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/9_ZXNUTp-xA&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://0.gvt0.com/vi/9_ZXNUTp-xA/default.jpg&celebrity=Cheryl Ladd)
 The song is "Try A Smile" from Cheryls third album "Take A ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/wxSbzV6vMF4&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://2.gvt0.com/vi/wxSbzV6vMF4/default.jpg&celebrity=Cheryl Ladd)
