Saturday, June 3, 2023

Press Bonanza

a paparazzi pic of Shelley from 1979

Shelley was a certified Supermodel by the mid-1970s. She was known as THE Charlie Girl, Revlon's superstar model and "it" girl - loved and admired all over the world. In 1979, after speaking to her agent who said, "It's a terrific show - you really should think about testing," she auditioned for the role of Tiffany Welles in Charlie's Angels. As part of her audition, she was subject to a personality test. Shelley recalled, "The first question was, 'What is your name?'" She said, "You know my name." They said, "Just answer the question, Shelley." And she got excited and said, "Is this a really personality test? I've always wanted to do a personality test." Then she said, "Oh, dammit, I didn't rehearse my personality this morning." The test seemed to have worked in her favor. Shelley eventually won the part and become Charlie's 5th Angel.

a writeup about Shelley from 1979

Upon the announcement of her Angels casting, Shelley's life suddenly went into overdrive. "Gee, I hardly have time to breathe or eat," she said after her first two weeks as Charlie's latest cherub. As THE Charlie Girl, she was used to being recognized on the street and sometimes even being followed around. But becoming an Angel was completely different. She had stepped into a different space, the rock star space. "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. She suddenly found herself caught in the worldwide frenzy known as Charlie's Angels. "I had press people crawling in my windows," she told E! in 2002.

a paparazzi pic of Shelley from 1979