a promo pic of Shelley taken at her home, 1979
Shelley became Angel no. 5 in 1979 when she joined the cast of the hit TV series Charlie's Angels. She was chosen from among a bevy of beautiful actresses which included Priscilla Presley, Kim Basinger, Michelle Pfeiffer, Connie Sellecca and Shari Belafonte. In May of 1979, Bond Girl Barbara Bach was announced as the newest Angel. But it was quickly retracted and, by late-May of that year, Shelley was announced as Charlie's newest Angel. Her casting may have come a little late but it received a lot of press and was so anticipated by fans around the world that it was even mentioned in the evening news. "I couldn’t believe it. What was I doing in the evening news?" Shelley exclaimed at the time.
a writeup about Shelley
from the Japanese fan magazine
Roadshow, June 1979
The news of Shelley's casting quickly spread around the world and writeups about her were translated in many languages. She became Hollywood's newest Superstar even before she filmed one frame for the hit TV series; and she was written about in Latin America, Europe, Asia and all over. Images of her appeared everywhere and everyone was excited to see THE Charlie Girl as Charlie's newest Angel. And the paparazzi relentlessly pursued her after the announcement of her Angel-dom. "I was totally unprepared for the press 'bonanza' which followed," she said on Jane Pauley's show Time and Again in 2000. "I was surprised by the amount of attention," she said. "I had press people crawling in my window," she told E! in 2002.
a promo pic of Shelley
from the Japanese fan magazine
Roadshow, June 1979
