Jaclyn Smith's Real Name: Jaclyn Smith

Quick answer: She is known as Jaclyn Smith, and she works under her own name. Her official biography and Biography.com both say she is from Houston, Texas. A Library of Congress record lists the fuller form Jacquelyn Ellen Smith, but no second qualifying source confirms that spelling.

Real name and early life

Her official biography calls her a native of Houston who put on her first pair of dancing shoes at age three. TV Guide adds that she dreamed of becoming a professional ballet dancer. Both say she studied at Trinity University in San Antonio, where she appeared in productions of Bye Bye Birdie and West Side Story; the official biography also lists Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

She left Texas to pursue dancing in New York. Her official biography says an agent there thought she was a natural for television, and she soon became the Breck Girl in shampoo ads. TV Guide also lists early commercials for Listerine. Library of Congress records give her birth date as October 26, 1945, in one note and as 1947 in another, so her birth year is unresolved.

Career highlights

The official biography says she appeared in McCloud, The Rookies, and Switch before starring as Kelly Garrett on Charlie's Angels in 1976. She was the only lead to stay for the show's full five-year network run, a point TV Guide also makes.

After the series, she earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing the title role in Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. She became known as the "Queen of the Mini-Series," with credits including Rage of Angels, George Washington, The Bourne Identity, and Florence Nightingale. Her official biography says she has more than 50 film and TV credits and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989. Later work includes the CBS drama The District and hosting Bravo's Shear Genius.

Business career

In 1985 she launched a line of women's apparel and accessories for Kmart. Biography.com describes how that move turned her into a fashion businesswoman at a career crossroads, and her official biography says she was among the first celebrities to build her own brand rather than simply endorse others. She later added bed, bath, and home furnishing lines. While with Max Factor she developed a fragrance, Jaclyn Smith's California, launched in 1989.

Name notes for searchers

Jaclyn Smith is the name she has always used professionally. The Library of Congress notes the variants Jacquelyn Ellen Smith and Jaclyn Ellen Smith, so searches for those names refer to the same actress. Her official biography and Biography.com both say she is from Houston, Texas.