Shelley first became famous as THE Charlie Girl in 1976. Hand-picked to represent the Revlon brand, she was the embodiment the brand's new ideal woman – gorgeous, sexy, young and independent. Many of the Charlie ad campaigns and commercials involved Shelley's then boyfriend, photographer Steen Svensson, as well as renowned hair stylist and makeup artist Rick Gillette. According to Rick, "Shelley Hack was really the perfect girl for Charlie. I remember when Revlon creative director David Leddick had Steen Svensson shoot the first presentation with her that got her the contract." In 2017, in The Real Mad Men of Advertising docu-series, Shelley said of her Charlie Girl persona, "Here was an idea who this new woman could be." She added, "She looked like she was having fun; but she was independent." Shelley was THE Charlie Girl from 1976 to 1982 and appeared in a multitude of ad campaigns and commercials for the brand. Rick said, "I can't tell you how many of these ads we shot for Revlon from Central Park to San Francisco and Paris the list grew and grew for years." In 2008, Shelley told Oprah Winfrey about how being THE Charlie Girl changed her life. Shelley said, "I think it made me very visible. And it made me feel like I'd really, really gotten incredibly lucky. And I was, you know, lucky because there were two things I was in [the other being Charlie's Angels] where it's about women being a little bit more empowered. So that made me later in my life go out and work for just that."
