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I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie: A Memoir by Jaclyn Smith

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Hardcover:

A New York Times Bestseller

From Charlie's Angels star, miniseries queen, and businesswoman Jaclyn Smith comes a heartfelt memoir chronicling the making of a global phenomenon and her story beyond the screen.

When the pilot aired to instant success in 1976, Charlie's Angels ushered in a TV revolution—for the first time, a network show featured three single female detectives whose stories revolved around fighting crime, not around supporting men. Jaclyn Smith, as Kelly Garrett (the only Angel to lead all five seasons of the show), was propelled into international fame and became an icon to girls and women everywhere. Now, for the first time, she shares the behind-the-scenes story of the origin and making of the iconic show, along with her longtime friendships with her co-stars including Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Cheryl Ladd.

But, as Smith writes, she wasn't born the first day she put on Kelly Garrett's tiny white bikini. Before Charlie's, she was a dancer on Broadway from Texas and a prolific commercial actress. After Charlie's, she channeled her childhood love of design when she pioneered the concept of celebrity-branded clothing lines with a mega-successful K-Mart partnership. She now sells her clothing lines as a commercial branding partner on HSN. While balancing acting and entrepreneurship, and bravely facing breast cancer, she also found love and raised two beloved children.

Intimate, honest, and down-to-earth, I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie tells the life story of an accomplished woman who has inspired generations of Angels who have come after her.

A New York Times Bestseller

From Charlie's Angels star, miniseries queen, and businesswoman Jaclyn Smith comes a heartfelt memoir chronicling the making of a global phenomenon and her story beyond the screen.

When the pilot aired to instant success in 1976, Charlie's Angels ushered in a TV revolution—for the first time, a network show featured three single female detectives whose stories revolved around fighting crime, not around supporting men. Jaclyn Smith, as Kelly Garrett (the only Angel to lead all five seasons of the show), was propelled into international fame and became an icon to girls and women everywhere. Now, for the first time, she shares the behind-the-scenes story of the origin and making of the iconic show, along with her longtime friendships with her co-stars including Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Cheryl Ladd.

But, as Smith writes, she wasn't born the first day she put on Kelly Garrett's tiny white bikini. Before Charlie's, she was a dancer on Broadway from Texas and a prolific commercial actress. After Charlie's, she channeled her childhood love of design when she pioneered the concept of celebrity-branded clothing lines with a mega-successful K-Mart partnership. She now sells her clothing lines as a commercial branding partner on HSN. While balancing acting and entrepreneurship, and bravely facing breast cancer, she also found love and raised two beloved children.

Intimate, honest, and down-to-earth, I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie tells the life story of an accomplished woman who has inspired generations of Angels who have come after her.

  • Publisher: Gallery Books

    Title: I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie: A Memoir

    Author: Jaclyn Smith

    On Sale Date: September 8, 2026

    ISBN 13: 978-1-9821-1664-4

    ISBN 10: 1-9821-1664-1

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $30.00

    BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Entrepreneurship; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Entertainment & Performing Arts; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs

    Page Count: 320

    Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 in

    Weight: 1.15 lb

  • Jaclyn Smith is an actress and businesswoman best known for playing Kelly Garrett on Charlie's Angels (1976–1981)—the only one of the original Angels to star in all five seasons. Before that role she worked as a Broadway dancer and a prolific commercial actress. Her on-screen career spans more than fifty films and television productions, including numerous miniseries. In 1985 she pioneered celebrity-branded fashion with a long-running Kmart clothing-line partnership, and she currently sells her lines as a commercial branding partner on HSN. She is a breast cancer survivor. She lives in Beverly Hills with her husband and family.

  • Critics are calling it winningly sweet, tenderhearted, and fascinating:

    • "[W]ill fascinate pop-culture fans…. Kelly Garrett might have been sassy, but Smith comes across as winningly sweet. A tenderhearted memoir written with an angelic voice." — Kirkus

This book is for you if

  • You grew up watching Kelly Garrett take down bad guys on Charlie's Angels and always wondered what was happening behind the scenes.

  • You want the origin story of a show that put three independent women detectives at the center of network TV for the first time, in 1976.

  • You're curious how a Broadway dancer from Texas became one of the most recognized faces in the world—and then built a second career as a fashion entrepreneur.

  • You appreciate memoirs that go past the highlight reel into real struggles, like Smith's breast cancer diagnosis and her life as a mother.

  • You want to mark the show's 50th anniversary with the definitive insider account from the one Angel who was there for all five seasons.

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