Kim Basinger – Then
Before she became one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, Kim Basinger was a very successful cover girl from New York. She eventually quit modeling to be an actress in Los Angeles, landing small guest roles in McMillan & Wife and Charlies Angels. Basinger co-starred in a miniseries with film legend Natalie Wood in From Here to Eternity in 1979 and its spinoff a year later. In 1983, she went to work in Never Say Never Again as a Bond girl.
Kim Basinger – Now
Basinger became a massive star in the 80s after playing Vicki Vale in Tim Burton’s Batman, and Memo Paris in The Natural before that. Basinger finally got her due as an actress in 1997. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the crime film L.A. Confidential. She recently played Elena Lincoln in Fifty Shades Darker, the sequel to the Fifty Shades of Grey. Hip-hop fans might recognize her as Eminem’s mom in 8 Mile.
Michelle Pfeiffer – Then
Michelle Pfeiffer’s breakthrough role came when she starred in the 1982 film, Grease 2. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed bombshell won even more critical acclaim for her role in the mob flick, Scarface, in 1983 and has landed roles in Batman Returns, Dangerous Minds, and What Lies Beneath. Pfeiffer has been honored for her work and was awarded the win for the BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe award for her work in the 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys.
Michelle Pfeiffer – Now
Pfeiffer took four years away from acting to focus on her family but returned to work in 2007 for the film adaptation of the musical Hairspray. That same year she appeared alongside Claire Danes and Robert De Niro in the fantasy film, Stardust, where she played the role of the witch Lamia. She has also appeared in the comedy film, New Year’s Eve, and won her first Emmy Award nomination for playing Ruth Madoff in The Wizard of Lies in 2017.
Lynda Carter – Then
Lynda Carter made her name when she prevailed at the Miss World USA pageant in 1972, winning the grand prize for Arizona. She followed up her pageant days by beginning an acting career, for which, she made her professional debut in Nakia in 1974. She may have gotten her start in a police drama, but it was being cast as Diana Prince in 1976 for the televised series, Wonder Woman, that detailed Prince’s superhero adventures that made Carter a bonafide star.
Lynda Carter – Now
Lynda Carter had no intention of disappearing after Wonder Woman ended, and has been working consistently since then. Carter took her talents to Broadway in 2005, when she took a turn in the role of Mama Morton in the long running revival of Chicago, the musical on which the 2003 film was based. The actress and musician went on tour in an act she titled An Evening with Lynda Carter in 2007. Most recently, she’s appeared in the TV show, Supergirl.
Susan Dey – Then
Susan Dey made her television debut in the hit 70s TV show, The Partridge Family, where she played daughter, Laurie Partridge. The show ran between 1970 and 1974, during which time, Dey found herself earning several other roles here and there, though she was kept quite busy with The Patridge Family and its various spin off projects. Between 1986 and 1992, Dey was the star of the TV procedural drama, L.A. Law.
Susan Dey – Now
At 63, Susan Dey has retired from life as an actor after over 30 years in front of the camera. Though she continued to work steadily throughout the 80s and 90s with roles in shows like Love & War, as well as the TV movie Whose Child Is This? The War For Baby Jessica, Dey decided by the early years of the new millennium that she had had enough. Her last TV appearances were in the show Third Watch, which were released in 2004.
Loni Anderson – Then
Loni Anderson may have become a household name when she was cast on the show WKRP, where she spent four years playing the blonde bombshell receptionist, Jennifer Marlowe. Audiences loved to laugh alongside Anderson as she popped up in numerous TV shows and Hollywood films over the years. However, Loni was also well known for her high profile relationships. Anderson was married four times, most notably to fellow star, Burt Reynolds.
Loni Anderson – Now
As she aged, Anderson began to shirk away from the spotlight, but even if her prime acting days were over, Anderson still had plenty of time to try out some new marriages. Anderson tied the knot for the fourth time in 2008, when she wed Bob Flick, who is a musician. Loni brought several children to the new union from her previous marriages. Anderson has only been onscreen twice in the decade or so, once in 2006, and in the 2016 Carol Channing documentary.
Kate Jackson – Then
In order to chase her dreams of acting, Kate Jackson ended up dropping out of the University of Mississippi and joined the American Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1971, she locked down her first role on the TV show Dark Shadows. This was followed by a recurring role for four straight seasons on the show The Rookies. As the 70s went on, Jackson starred in a handful of movies and eventually hit the big time with 1975’s Charlie’s Angels.
Kate Jackson – Now
One interesting detail about Charlie’s Angels was that it was actually Kate Jackson who was involved with the show’s the name. Originally, the show was going to be called The Alleys Cats. However, the producers were not happy with it and told Jackson. As a result, she looked around and saw a poster with three angels on it. As they say, the rest was history. Despite her successful career, Kate Jackson’s romantic life was less so. With three marriages came three divorces.
Valerie Perrine – Then
Born in 1943 to parents Winifred and Kenneth Perrine, Valerie is from Galveston, Texas, and was destined for big things. After working as a showgirl in Las Vegas, Valerie ended up starring in Kurt Vonnegut’s 1972 flick Slaughterhouse-Five and even made an appearance in Playboy magazine. After her role in 1974’s Lenny, Valerie’s career truly took off and it earned her many awards, including an Academy Award nomination as well as the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Valerie Perrine – Now
Although her award-winning role in Lenny was arguably her finest hour, Perrine will probably be best remembered by casual fans for her involvement with the 1978’s Superman, as well as its 1980 sequel. He role was that of Eve Teschmacher, who worked for the main villain, Lex Luther. Since then, Perrine hasn’t been involved in many high-profile projects since the 70s/80s. One exception came in 2002 when she made an appearance in the Mel Gibson-led romantic comedy What Women Want.
