Born 1951

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Was considered for the role eventually played by Meredith Baxter on Family (1976), which is how she came to producer Aaron Spelling's attention for Charlie's Angels (1976).

May 2005

Born on 12 July 1951 in Huron, South Dakota to an engineer father and waitress mother, Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor dreamed of becoming a movie star, and took tap lessons and sang at home with her dad. In high school, she played in a jazz trio, Music Shop Band, which travelled from the Midwest to California, to try and make it professionally.

When the group broke up, Ladd decided to stay and chase her dream. Her first real gig was singing backup on the cartoon show, Josie and the Pussycats.

After acting in commercials, she landed a role in a 1973 movie, Jamaica Reef, and met her first husband, David Ladd, son of Hollywood legend Alan Ladd.

They married in 1974, and two years later, their daughter, Jordan, was born. The marriage lasted six years.

In 1977 she was scouted by Charlie's Angels' producer Aaron Spelling to replace Farrah Fawcett, who had unexpectedly left the year-old sensation. Petite (5ft 4), but with plenty of spirit, Ladd was a hit as Kris Munroe. "She had to fill a big pair of shoes, and she did it with confidence," says co-star Jaclyn Smith.