7 Lynda Carter Roles You Need to Watch Beyond ‘Wonder Woman’
To generations of television fans, Lynda Carter will always be Wonder Woman. She made her debut as Diana Prince and her superhero alter ego in 1975 and remained with the series for three seasons, first on ABC and then on CBS. However, Carter has taken on plenty of other parts during her career, from real-life Hollywood royalty to a social worker, private detective, and frontier woman.
In honor of her 75th birthday on July 24, here are seven roles that showed audiences a different side of her.
Bobbie Jo Baker in Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)
Everett Collection
Released shortly after the first season of Wonder Woman, Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw marked Carter’s feature film debut. She played Bobbie Jo Baker, a New Mexico carhop who idolized Linda Ronstadt and dreamed of becoming a country singer. Bobbie Jo left home with Lyle Wheeler (Marjoe Gortner), a drifter and quick-draw performer who looked up to Billy the Kid. Their search for adventure soon turned into a violent crime spree, much different from her role as the hero Wonder Woman.
Kate Carlin in Born to Be Sold (1981)
Ron Samuels Productions/Courtesy: Everett Collection
In the NBC television movie Born to Be Sold, Carter played Kate Carlin, a dedicated social worker whose concern for a pregnant teenage client led her to uncover an illegal baby-selling operation. The criminals purchased newborns from teenage mothers and sold them to couples who were unable to adopt through legal channels. Directed by Burt Brinckerhoff, the drama also starred Harold Gould, Dean Stockwell and Donna Wilkes.
Rita Hayworth in Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess (1983)
Everett Collection
Carter portrayed one of Hollywood’s most famous stars in the 1983 CBS biographical movie Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess. Based on John Kobal’s biography of Hayworth, the film followed her transformation from young dancer Margarita Cansino into a major Columbia Pictures star. It also dramatized her relationships with studio chief Harry Cohn (Michael Lerner), filmmaker Orson Welles (Edward Edwards) and Prince Aly Khan (Aharon Ipalé).
Carole Stanwyck in Partners in Crime (1984)
Mario Casilli/TV Guide/Everett Collection
Carter returned to series television opposite Loni Anderson in the short-lived NBC crime drama Partners in Crime. Carter played Carole Stanwyck, a former socialite who worked as a photographer, while Anderson played streetwise musician Sydney Kovak. The women had little in common except that both had been married to private investigator Raymond Caulfield. After Raymond was murdered and left them his detective agency, Carole and Sydney began solving cases together. The series lasted for one season in 1984.
Charlotte Sampson in Daddy (1991)
NBC/Everett Collection
Carter starred with Patrick Duffy and Kate Mulgrew in Daddy, an NBC television movie based on Danielle Steel‘s 1989 novel. Duffy played advertising executive Oliver Watson, who struggled to rebuild his family after his wife, Sarah (Mulgrew), left him. Carter played Charlotte Sampson, a successful actress who became Oliver’s new love interest. The cast also included a young Ben Affleck as Oliver’s oldest son, with Jenny Lewis and Matthew Lawrence playing his other children.
Meredith Lanahan in Posing: Inspired by Three Real Stories (1991)
Everett Collection
Later that same year, Carter played Meredith Lanahan in the 1991 CBS television movie Posing: Inspired by Three Real Stories, also sometimes called I Posed for Playboy. Meredith was a married mother and bowling alley owner who decided to pose for Playboy. The film also followed successful stockbroker Janet Janeway (Michele Greene) and Yale student Abigail Baywood (Amanda Peterson), who made the same decision for different reasons. Their choices brought unexpected reactions from their families, friends, and coworkers.
Elizabeth Shields in Hawkeye (1994-95)
Everett Collection
Carter returned to a regular television role in the syndicated frontier adventure Hawkeye. Inspired by characters from James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales, the series took place in New York’s Hudson Valley in 1755, during the French and Indian War. Carter played Elizabeth Shields, who came to Fort Bennington with her husband to establish a trading post. After he disappeared, frontiersman Natty “Hawkeye” Bumppo (Lee Horsley) became her ally. Produced by Stephen J. Cannell, the series aired for one season and 22 episodes.
Which one of these roles is your favorite? Or let us know what else you think we should add to this list in the comments.
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Wonder Women
March 2018
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