Iconic Actress Makes Shocking Confessions in New Interview

Jaclyn Smith is pulling back the curtain on Charlie’s Angels — and what happened behind the scenes was sometimes far wilder than anything viewers saw on television.

With the iconic ABC series approaching its 50th anniversary on Sept. 22, Smith, 80, is opening up about everything from cocaine use on set and tense cast dynamics to a pay battle that nearly made her walk away before filming even began.

And in one of her most surprising revelations, Smith says a fellow Angel once invited her to join a threesome.

The actress shares the bombshell stories in her new memoir, I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie, as well as in a candid new interview with PEOPLE.

Even five decades later, Charlie’s Angels remains a major part of Smith’s life. The phone at the gate of her Los Angeles home reportedly plays the show’s famous theme song, while a bronze sculpture given to her by late costar Farrah Fawcett still sits in her living room.

“People still send Charlie’s Angels pictures for me to sign every day,” Smith said. “Who would have dreamed the afterlife of Charlie’s Angels would be like this?”

Smith was a relatively unknown actress when she landed the role of Kelly Garrett in 1976 alongside Fawcett as Jill Munroe and Kate Jackson as Sabrina Duncan.

“We were just three girls hoping to find an audience, and boy, did we find an audience,” Smith recalled.

The series became a pop culture phenomenon almost overnight, turning its three stars into some of the most famous women on television.

But Smith now says there was already drama before the cameras even started rolling.

Jackson, who had previously appeared on producer Aaron Spelling’s series The Rookies, was offered $10,000 per episode and received top billing.

Fawcett was offered $5,000 an episode.

Smith, meanwhile, was offered just $3,000.

Smith believed she and Fawcett had similar levels of television experience at the time, with Smith having appeared on Switch and Fawcett appearing on Harry O.

She told her agent she wanted the same salary as Fawcett — or she would walk away from Charlie’s Angels entirely.

The gamble worked and Smith received a raise.

“I was probably a little more aggressive about that than today,” she admitted. “I don’t know where that business sense came from, but it was there, I guess, from my daddy.”

Smith said her father always taught her to have a backup plan and carefully think through major decisions.

The original Angels lineup did not last long.

Fawcett stunned fans by leaving after the first season to pursue more serious dramatic roles.

Smith said Jackson struggled with her departure.

“Kate had a hard time with Farrah gone,” Smith recalled. “No one could replace her.”

Cheryl Ladd was eventually brought in as Jill Munroe’s younger sister, Kris Munroe, and Smith said the new addition dramatically changed the chemistry among the women.

“Kate was sharp and fought for everything, and Cheryl was pretty easygoing, so I felt sometimes caught between the two because they were so opposite,” Smith said.

Jackson ultimately left after the third season in 1979 and was replaced by Shelley Hack.

Hack lasted just one season before Tanya Roberts joined the show for its fifth and final season.

That is when things apparently became even more colorful.

Smith writes that Roberts had an open marriage with her husband, Barry Roberts, and made no secret of their unconventional arrangement.

According to Smith, Roberts was comfortable asking other people to “swing” with the couple.

Smith recalled one particularly unforgettable moment while the cast was flying to Hawaii to film Charlie’s Angels.

She said Roberts — who died in 2021 at age 65 — directly asked whether Smith wanted to join her and Barry for a threesome.

Smith turned down the offer.

However, she said she respected Roberts for being so open about her sexuality, describing her honesty as brave and self-aware.

The final season also reportedly brought a much darker atmosphere to the set.

Smith writes that by Season 5, cocaine use had become increasingly common around the production.

“The more drug use I saw, the more time I spent in my motor home,” Smith writes in the memoir. “I was in there a lot by the end of the series.”

Smith said she has never used cocaine herself and never intends to.

“I’ve watched that drug, in particular, turn people into the worst version of themselves,” she wrote.

By that point, Smith already knew the fifth season would be her last.

Charlie’s Angels ended in 1981 after five seasons, with Smith becoming the only original Angel to remain a regular cast member throughout the entire run.

The show launched her into a decades-long acting career and later helped Smith build a successful business empire.

Despite the salary disputes, cast changes, drugs and behind-the-scenes drama, Smith said her connection with her original costars endured long after the cameras stopped rolling.

Fawcett died from cancer in 2009, but Smith has continued to speak warmly about their friendship. Her bond with Jackson also survived the pressures surrounding the hit series.

“After the applause, the friendship is still there,” Smith said. “That sisterhood was strong.”

Nearly 50 years later, Charlie’s Angels may be remembered for glamorous detectives, feathered hair and high-speed crime fighting — but Smith’s new revelations show there was plenty happening when the cameras weren’t rolling.