Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Wagner is popular for her leading role in the American science fiction television series The Bionic Woman (1976–1978), in which she portrayed character Jaime Sommers. She first played the role on the series The Six Million Dollar Man. The character became a pop culture icon of the 1970s. For this role, Wagner won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Dramatic Role in 1977 – the first for an actor or actress in a science fiction series. Wagner began acting professionally in 1971 and has maintained a lengthy acting career in a variety of film and television productions to the present day.
Contents
Early life
Wagner was born in Los Angeles, California. Following her parents' divorce, her mother remarried, and the family moved to Portland, Oregon where Wagner graduated from Portland's David Douglas High School.
After graduation, Wagner spent a couple of months in France before enrolling at the University of Oregon for one year. Wagner then transferred to Mt. Hood Community College, Gresham, for six months before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles. She was diagnosed with dyslexia.
Career
Wagner worked as a model in Los Angeles and gained some television experience by appearing as a hostess in Playboy After Dark, and she was also a contestant on the game show The Dating Game in 1969 (one of her potential suitors, whom she did not choose, was TV actor Roger Ewing). In 1971, she signed a contract with Universal Studios and worked as a contract player in Universal productions. Her primetime network television debut was in the series Adam-12 ("Million Dollar Buff"), and she went on to appear in a dozen other Universal shows, including Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law (co-starring Lee Majors), The F.B.I., Sarge, and Night Gallery.
Between 1971 and 1975, she appeared in five episodes of Universal's Marcus Welby, M.D. and the 1974 pilot episode of The Rockford Files. In 1973, Wagner branched into film roles when Universal cast her in Two People, which was her first feature film and her first lead role. She also co-starred in the 20th Century Fox film The Paper Chase the same year, playing the daughter of the stern law professor, Kingsfield.
In 1975, arranged under her extended contract with Universal Studios, Wagner played the role of Jaime Sommers, a former tennis professional who was the childhood sweetheart of "Six Million Dollar Man" Colonel Steve Austin (played by Lee Majors). According to Kenneth Johnson, interviewed for a featurette included in the 2010 North American DVD release of The Bionic Woman season one, Wagner was cast in the role based upon her appeal and spontaneity after he saw her appearance in the pilot and a follow-up episode of The Rockford Files. In the second-season, two-part episode, her character is critically injured in a skydiving accident and equipped with bionic implants similar to Austin's, but her body rejects them, ultimately leading to her death.
This was intended to be Wagner's last role under her Universal contract, but public response to the character was so overwhelming that the "death" was retconned into a cover story for a near-death secret recovery, and Wagner appeared in a two-part episode which returned her character, followed by a spin-off series, The Bionic Woman, which debuted in January 1976. The same year, she co-starred in a Canadian film, Second Wind opposite James Naughton. She made several crossover appearances in The Six Million Dollar Man during the series' run. The role earned Wagner an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Role in 1977.
Other work
In 1987, Wagner wrote a series of books with Robert M. Klein about using acupressure to achieve results akin to a surgical facelift. In 1994, she co-authored the vegetarian cookbook, High Road to Health.
Wagner appeared in commercials as a spokesperson for Southern California's regional Ford Motor Company dealerships from 1987 through 2000. She was also a spokesperson in infomercials for Select Comfort's "Sleep Number" bed from 2003 to 2009.
In recent years, Wagner has given seminars and workshops for her self-help therapy, "Quiet the Mind and Open the Heart," which promotes spirituality and meditation.
In 2010, she participated in interviews and featurettes included in the long-delayed North American DVD releases of The Bionic Woman and the 2011 release of The Six Million Dollar Man.
In 2016, Wagner publicly advocated as a treatment for her chronic urticaria (i.e., hives) Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), a substance which the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared was a toxic industrial bleach used in wastewater treatment and hydraulic fracturing.
Honors
Wagner earned an Emmy Award in 1977 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Dramatic Role for her role in The Bionic Woman.
On December 13, 1984, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce presented Wagner with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, category 'Film', located at the north side of the 6700 block of Hollywood Boulevard.
In 2012, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to Wagner.
On October 18, 2019, the San Diego International Film Festival presented Wagner with the Humanitarian Award. Previous winners include, Geena Davis, Mariel Hemingway and Joaquin Phoenix.
Personal life
During the first year of The Bionic Woman, Wagner was the driver in a car accident with her then boyfriend, actor Michael Brandon, in the passenger seat. Brandon suffered a serious eye injury and Wagner received a severe cut on her upper lip which left a small but permanent scar. The event halted production on the show for weeks.
Prior to her first marriage, Wagner lived with Captain Daniel M. Yoder (USAF) until he went to Vietnam. She has been married and divorced four times. From 1971 to 1973, she was married to music publisher Allan Rider. From 1976 to 1979, she was married to Michael Brandon. In 1981, she married stuntman Henry Kingi, whom she met on the set of The Bionic Woman. Wagner had two sons with Kingi, Dorian (b. 1982) and Alex (b. 1986). The couple divorced in 1984. Wagner married TV producer Lawrence Mortorff in 1990 and they divorced three years later.
Wagner was scheduled to be a passenger on American Airlines Flight 191 from Chicago to Los Angeles on May 25, 1979, but suddenly felt very ill while waiting for the plane. She skipped the flight, which crashed only minutes after takeoff, killing all 271 people on board and 2 people on the ground – the deadliest non terrorism-related aviation accident to have occurred in the United States.
In the early 1980s, Wagner owned a home in the Hollywood Hills, next door to Edward Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli. After Van Halen constructed his 5150 studio behind his own house, Wagner began to complain about the loudness of his band's recording their 1984 album. Wagner eventually moved out and Van Halen purchased the house.
Wagner was a vegetarian for fifteen years and in 1990 co-authored The High Road to Health: A Vegetarian Cookbook which was released in a paperback version in 1994. She avoids dairy products and prefers soy milk. In 1999, Wagner returned to eating meat and added fish and poultry to her diet. She is an advocate of clean eating and locally grown food.
Filmography
Books
1987: Lindsay Wagner's New Beauty: The Acupressure Facelift by Lindsay Wagner and Robert M. Klein (ISBN 0-13-536806-5)
1988: 30-Day Natural Face Lift Program by Lindsay Wagner and Robert M. Klein (ISBN 0-86188-779-4)
1994: High Road to Health: A Vegetarian Cookbook by Lindsay Wagner and Ariane Spade (ISBN 0-671-87277-X)
