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Jaclyn Smith revealed that she turned down the opportunity to play a Bond girl in “Moonraker” because of her Texas upbringing.
“I had a contract [for ‘Charlie’s Angels’] and, you know, Houston upbringing, you follow your contract,” the actress, 80, said at Paleyfest’s “Charlie’s Angels” 50th anniversary reunion. “And Aaron [Spelling] was the first to invite me to the party, so I was honoring my contract.”
She added, “And I think it wasn’t meant to be. I think things happen for a reason, I really do, so I have no complaints.”
Smith was offered the part of Dr. Holly Goodhead in the 1979 Bond film starring Roger Moore. The part eventually went to “The Way We Were” actress Lois Chiles.
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Jaclyn Smith spoke about turning down a role in “Moonraker” that later went to Lois Chiles. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images; Peter Bischoff/Getty Images)
Smith also revealed that she was considered for “Beetlejuice,” a concept that she admitted she “didn’t understand.”
“I know, sad, my husband regrets that,” she added, reacting to the audience.
“But you read a script and it doesn’t always ring true to you, and it’s about what you can bring to it,” she explained.
Smith didn’t say what “Beetlejuice” part she was considered for – the film’s female leads ultimately ended up being Catherine O’Hara, Geena Davis and a young Winona Ryder.
She added that at one point she and John Travolta were supposed to star opposite each other in the erotic romance “9 ½ Weeks.”
“But I wasn’t really right for that one either,” she admitted. “So, that was Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. You know, it happens. But, you know, I think certainly I look at my life as what’s meant to be will be, and it’s been a good journey. It’s really been a good journey.”
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Jaclyn Smith, left, is seen with Cheryl Ladd and Kate Jackson in 1978. (Harry Langdon/Getty Images)
Along with her role on “Charlie’s Angels,” which she remained in for the entire series, Smith also starred in the critically acclaimed TV movie “Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy,” “The Bourne Identity” miniseries in 1988 and had recurring roles on “Becker,” “The District,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “All American.”
Smith also said that originally “Charlie’s Angels” was aired as a two-part movie, and even as its audience grew, the network “didn’t believe in the show.”
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“It went through the roof,” Smith said of the pilot episode, “and they thought, ‘This is a fluke, we gotta do it again. This can’t be. No one’s going to – this doesn’t have endurance.’”
She said the network aired the pilot for a second night to even higher ratings.
Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd attended the “Charlie’s Angels” 50th Anniversary Celebration at PaleyFest LA in Hollywood in April 2026. (Earl Gibson III/Deadline via Getty Images)
“And that’s Aaron’s genius,” she mused. “I think he had an instinct about what the public wanted to see.”
She added, “So I didn’t understand the network not – his track record was amazing. They just thought these women in men’s roles, this is not going to work. They didn’t even order a full season of episodes.”
It wasn’t until the show remained in the top 10 that the network finally realized they had a hit, she said.
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Kate Jackson also lamented that she wasn’t able to star in the 1979 film “Kramer vs. Kramer” part that went to Meryl Streep, who ended up winning her first Academy Award for the role.
Kate Jackson, center, said that she’d originally been set to do “Kramer vs. Kramer,” but couldn’t due to her commitment to “Charlie’s Angels.” (American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images)
“They changed the schedule for the movie four times,” a frank Jackson told moderator George Pennacchio after asking him, “Do you want the truth?”
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“And every time Aaron would look at the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ schedule and say, ‘Ah, gee, we had to change our schedule. Now it doesn’t work here, here and here. So, he didn’t let me do it. So, I decided then, ‘I’ll do this year and then, adios.’”