Thursday, 23 Apr 2026

'Charlie's Angels' star Cheryl Ladd defied producers with 'tiniest bikini ever' to make her point

Cheryl Ladd says she bought the tiniest bikini to defy producer Aaron Spelling's wardrobe choices on the set of the iconic series "Charlie's Angels."


'Charlie's Angels' star Cheryl Ladd defied producers with 'tiniest bikini ever' to make her point

Cheryl Ladd found herself slipping into so many bikinis on the set of "Charlie's Angels" that she decided to take matters into her own hands.

In 1977, the actress took on the role of Kris Munroe in the iconic series after producer Aaron Spelling chose her to play Farrah Fawcett's younger sister. The series, which followed the adventures of a glamorous detective agency, starred Jaclyn Smith, David Doyle, Kate Jackson and Fawcett, who was leaving that year. The show aired until 1981.

"He liked me in a bikini," Ladd, 74, said about Spelling at the Paley Center's PaleyFest L.A. panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of "Charlie's Angels."

The star admitted she wore so many two-pieces in scenes that "it was starting to p--- me off."

Ladd knew it wouldn't pass ABC censors. She did it anyway.

WATCH: 'CHARLIE'S ANGELS' STAR FARRAH FAWCETT BATTLED CANCER 'TOOTH AND NAIL' FOR HER SON REDMOND, ASSISTANT SAYS

"We filmed, and I heard Aaron's not happy," she said.

"At first, somebody came and told me Aaron said, 'Tell the little troublemaker that she's never going to do that again,'" she said. "And I didn't. But I made my point. And when I was wearing a swimming suit, it was something I felt comfortable in."

Spelling died in 2006 at 83.

Things got serious at the panel. For the first time, Ladd opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis.

"Mine was an aggressive form," Ladd, who was accompanied by Jackson and Smith, said. "I had wonderful doctors. But I was bald for quite a while. It was a humbling experience."

"I have a wonderful husband. All through it, he was there for me at every turn, and that makes a difference," Ladd said, referring to her husband, Brian Russell. "Eventually, I started to get little sprouts of hair. It was like, 'Oh, I'm getting hair!' It was a long, long, hard road. But you just get through. You just get on with it."

Not only do the three women share an unbreakable bond through their experience on the show, but they are all cancer survivors.

WATCH: 'CHARLIE'S ANGELS' STAR CHERYL LADD REVEALS HER FAVORITE MEMORIES FROM THE SET, SURPRISING NEW ROLE

When Ladd disclosed her diagnosis to her friends, Smith said she immediately empathized.

"The first thing I did was send her my wigs," Smith shared. "She was so brave. She did have a very aggressive form [of cancer]."

"It's really important to understand and embrace not being afraid of getting a mammogram," Jackson, a two-time breast cancer survivor, added. "Early detection is key. Find it early enough, and you'll probably be all right."

"Oh, I feel so proud. I feel appreciative. I feel we did something right," Smith told Fox News Digital ahead of the panel. "And I feel I'm still standing here. And life has been interesting. It's been a beautiful journey. Truly, I have two beautiful kids, a great husband and three granddaughters. So I'm riding high. And, you know, I think things are - 'Charlie's Angels' was meant to be. I have no regrets."

In 2021, Ladd opened up to Fox News Digital about her meaningful friendships with her former co-stars.

"It's really interesting because when you do something so specific, so iconic, and you are in it when it was huge - it is something you can explain to people, but until you've done it, it is different," she continued.

"We think back often about how crazy that time was. We had to go into restaurants through the back door. We weren't prepared for how much people would love the show. It was wonderful, but it was wild."

"It has been all of it," she said. "I knew who I was as a young girl. I would climb to the top of the tree and talk to God all the time. It has been an interesting path - a lot of good, a lot of bumps, a lot of tough learning moments.

"He [God] was with me the whole time. He lets us trip ourselves so we remember that He is in charge. I think that is a good thing, especially in our youth, when we aren't exactly thinking everything through."

Fox News Digital's Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.

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