Shelley Hack
Shelley Hack was born on July 6, 1952 in Greenwich, Connecticut. With her classy east coast look, Shelley became a top fashion model in her teens. Shelley coupled her beauty with a keen intellect. She studied archaeology at the University of Sydney in Australia and eventually completed her degree at Smith College. She moved to New York and studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio. She continued to model and became well known as the ‘Charlie’ perfume girl after doing a series of successful commercials for the product. She paid her acting dues by getting a bit part in the Oscar winner Annie Hall and appearing in If I ever see you again, and Death Car on the Freeway.
The break that made Shelley a household name was getting the nod to become one of Charlie’s Angels. Getting the job over actresses such as Michelle Pfeiffer and Catherine Bach was quite the coup. The combination of Shelley’s elegant beauty, her association as the ‘Charlie’ perfume girl and the pleading of the show’s costume designer, Nolan Miller were all factors in Shelley’s winning of the role. Nolan Miller wanted someone who could wear the elegant gowns and furs he was designing for the show and Shelley fit the bill. Shelley’s casting made her an overnight sensation, but replacing the popular Kate Jackson who acted as the Angels’ unofficial leader, would not be easy. Shelley’s first episode, Love Boat Angels debuted strong and it looked like smooth sailing for the new angel. However, her first episode did a poor job of introducing the character of Tiffany Welles. Instead of focusing on the new character, the early episodes often relegated Tiffany to the back. The show got away from its team concept and began to focus more on individual angels in an episode. Tiffany was not usually the angel receiving the limelight. In episodes such as Angel Hunt, Of Ghosts and Angels and particularly Angels on Campus, Shelley showed that she could hold her own with her co-stars. However, the die had already been cast and Shelley would not be asked back for a second year of Charlie’s Angels.
After her stint with the Angels, Shelley continued to act, starring in the Television shows Cutter to Houston and Jack and Mike. She also had film roles in The King of Comedy, The Stepfather, Blind Fear, Troll and Bridesmaids. She has also read for the audio book, The Lord of Hawkfell Island. See a complete listing at www.imdb.com for additional projects by Shelley.
Shelley has been married to Harry Winer a director and they have a son. She has run for political office in Santa Monica but was not elected. Other political interests have led her to working as a polling station supervisor in Bosnia-Herzegovina and she also produced the first televised presidential debates for the country.
In 2000, she returned to her Angel roots, hosting the Charlie’s Angels biographies with John Forsythe who was the voice of Charlie on the show. Like all of Charlie’s Angels, Shelley continues to have a loyal following of fans who anxiously await her new projects.
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