Shelley with Charlie's Angels
co-stars Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith
from the cover of TV Yearbook, 1979
Shelley became Charlie's 5th Angel in 1979. She was handpicked by producer Aaron Spelling for the role of Tiffany Welles due to her impeccable background. She was a bright young woman with a high I.Q. from upscale Greenwich, Connecticut. She had a history degree from Smith, a classy East Coast college. And, because of her Revlon Charlie endorsements, she was already one of the most recognizable faces in the world. "We hired her 40 percent from the screen test and 60 percent from the personality test," Spelling told TV Guide, "We decided she was a nice person with sparkle and intelligence." Shelley's debut episode "Love Boat Angels" topped the Nielsen ratings when it first aired.
Shelley with fellow Charlie's Angels
Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith
as well as Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson
on the cover of TV Yearbook, 1979
When Shelley was the cast as one of Charlie's Angels, she was immediately thrust into the Hollywood limelight and tongues began wagging about Charlie's newest Angel. She was talked about in gossip columns, tabloids and entertainment shows. Everything about her "private life" was fair game. She dispelled the rumors that she didn't get along with her co-stars, saying they were "all horrible lies." "Jackie, Cheryl and I hit it off immediately." she said, "Put your ear to the wall, all you'll hear is laughter." Suddenly, everything she did was being written and talked about - the true and untrue. A writeup on the fanzine TV Yearbook even claimed she broke her parent hearts (Check out: The Debutante) In 2002, she told TV Tales, "There's a downside to this stuff."
Shelley and fellow Charlie's Angels
Cheryl Ladd, Jaclyn Smith,
Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson
were written about in the fanzine TV Yearbook, 1979
