From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lindsay Wagner (born Lindsay Jean Ball on June 22, 1949 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress.

Wagner has appeared in many movies and television shows. She is best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers on the television series The Bionic Woman, for which she won an Emmy Award.

Early life
When Wagner was seven, her parents divorced and her mother moved with her to the northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock, near Pasadena. Wagner's acting career might have been able to begin her acting career as a teenager, she was offered a lead role in a TV series at the age of 13, but it was an actor, James Best, who advised her to wait until she was older.

Another move with her mother and stepfather brought her to Portland, Oregon where she attended David Douglas High School and appeared in a number of school plays. She then studied at Mt. Hood Community College in Portland and the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. Lindsay overcame dyslexia to become a successful academic student, and to become a prospective actress. All actresses and actors must be able to read and memorize their lines and stage directions in a production. She still had the ambiton of becoming a Hollywood actress.

Acting career
Lindsay began by working as a model in Los Angeles and gained some television experience by appearing in commercials and in the talk show Playboy After Dark.

However, it wasn't until she contacted a friend at Universal Studios and was cast for a small part in Marcus Welby, M.D. that her acting career began to take off. In 1971, Wagner signed as a "contract player" that meant she would appear in several different productions for a set weekly salary. Her appearances in these TV shows helped her win roles in the films Two People and as a law student in The Paper Chase.

Wagner's next appearance was as Jaime Sommers, a former tennis pro turned Bionic Woman in The Six Million Dollar Man (1975). Her character Jaime Sommers was critically injured in a sky-diving accident, and at the urging of Major Steve Austin, she was equipped with bionic limbs like his to keep her from being crippled. It was also intended for this to be her last role in a Universal production. Her character Jaime, who was Steve Austin's childhood sweetheart in the real town of Ojai, California, in a two-part episode of the series, sickened and apparently died.

However, American TV audiences had other ideas! They had taken heart to Wagner's Jaime Sommers character and wanted her back. The public uproar that followed meant Universal was persuaded to bring "The Bionic Woman" back to life. Wagner starred in another two-part series within The Six Million Dollar Man, called "The Return of the Bionic Woman", and then her own series, The Bionic Woman, was spun off. Like Steve Austin, Jaime Sommers became an agent for the fictitious U.S. Government agency, the O.S.I., though, suffering from amnesia, she could not remember her prevous relationship with Major Austin.

Wagner has been married four times. From 1971-73 she was married to music publisher Allan Rider. From late 1976 through 1979, she was married to the actor and writer, Michael Brandon. Then in 1981, she married to Henry Kingi, a stuntman whom she met on the set of The Bionic Woman. Wagner bore two sons with Kingi; Dorian (b. 1982), and Alex (b. 1986). This marriage, like her previous two did not last. Lindsay married TV producer Lawrence Mortorff in 1990, but then divorced a couple of years later. She is remotely related to fellow actress Linda Gray by marriage, since Gray's husband is one of Lindsay's uncles.

Later life
Wagner continues to play roles on movies, infomercials, and appearances on other shows. Her largest roles have been in several made-for-TV movies about Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers. In the last one, Jaime Sommers and Steve Austin finally get married!

Lindsay Wagner is on the board of directors of the Teen Talking Circle Project ([[1]]) and has been an active supporter of Girls Talking Circles ([[2]]).

The Project, which is directed by her friend and photographer, Linda Wolf ([[3]]), published an interview with Lindsay in their book, Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun: Young Women and Mentors on the Transition to Womanhood (by Linda Wolf & Wind Hughes, published by New Society Publishers, 1997), which can be read at ([[4]]).

Lindsay is also the co-director of her own nonprofit, PeaceMakers Community, with James Beard.

Recently, she appeared in infomercials hawking the Sleep Number Bed.

Trivia
Wagner was scheduled to be a passenger on American Airlines Flight 191 from Chicago to Los Angeles on May 25, 1979, but she felt uneasy about flying that day. Wagner skipped the flight, which crashed only minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board.

  Buckaroo (2005) .... Ms. Ainsley
Thicker Than Water (2005) (TV) .... Jess Jarrett
The Surfer King (2005) .... Connie Zirpollo
"The Division"
... aka Heart of the City
- Farewell My Lovelies (2002) TV Episode .... Agatha B.
A Light in the Forest (2002) .... Penelope Audrey

Frog and Wombat (1998) .... Sydney Parker
Voyage of Terror (1998) (TV) .... Dr. Stephanie Tauber
... aka Schreckensfahrt der Orion Star, Die (Germany)
... aka The Fourth Horseman
Their Second Chance (1997) (TV) .... Barbara
... aka The Keller/Keller Story
Contagious (1997) (TV) .... Dr. Hannah Cole
... aka Virus
A Mother's Instinct (1996) (TV) .... Raeanne Gilbaine
Sins of Silence (1996) (TV) .... Molly McKinley
Fighting for My Daughter (1995) (TV) .... Kate Kerner
Bionic Ever After? (1994) (TV) .... Jaime Sommers
... aka Bionic Breakdown (UK)
Once in a Lifetime (1994) (TV) .... Daphne Fields
... aka Danielle Steel's 'Once in a Lifetime'
Men Who Hate Women & the Women Who Love Them (1994) (TV) .... Host
Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7 (1993) (TV) .... Elizabeth Hahn
A Message from Holly (1992) (TV) .... Holly
To Be the Best (1992) (TV) .... Paula O'Neill
"Against All Odds" (1992) TV Series .... Host
Treacherous Crossing (1992) (TV) .... Lindsey Thompson Gates
She Woke Up (1992) (TV) .... Claudia Parr
Fire in the Dark (1991) (TV) .... Janet
Ricochet (1991) .... D.A. Priscilla Brimleigh
Babies (1990) (TV) .... Yvonne
Shattered Dreams (1990) (TV) .... Charlotte Fedders
Voice of the Heart (1990) (TV) .... Katharine Tempest

"A Peaceable, Kingdom" (1989) TV Series .... Rebecca Cafferty
Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989) (TV) .... Jaime Sommers
From the Dead of Night (1989) (TV) .... Joanna
Police Story: Burnout (1988) (TV) .... Det. Sidney Shannon
Scandals (1988) (TV) .... Host
Nightmare at Bitter Creek (1988) (TV) .... Nita Daniels
The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story (1988) (TV) .... Uli Derickson
... aka The Flight
... aka The Taking of Flight 847
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents"
- Prism (1988) TV Episode .... Susan Forrester
Evil in Clear River (1988) (TV) .... Kate McKinnon
Student Exchange (1987) (TV)
The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987) (TV) .... Jaime Sommers
"Kate & Allie"
- Late Bloomer (1986) TV Episode .... Julia
Convicted (1986) (TV) .... Martha Forbes
Young Again (1986) (TV) .... Laura Gordon
Child's Cry (1986) (TV) .... Joanne Van Buren
Stranger in My Bed (1986) (TV) .... Beverly Slater
This Child Is Mine (1985) (TV) .... Bonnie Wilkerson
The Other Lover (1985) (TV) .... Claire Fielding
Passions (1984) (TV) .... Nina Simon
"Jessie" (1984) TV Series .... Dr. Jessie Hayden
Martin's Day (1984) .... Dr. Mennen
Jessie (1984) (TV) .... Dr. Jessie Hayden
Two Kinds of Love (1983) (TV) .... Susan Farley
Princess Daisy (1983) (TV) .... Francesca Valenski
"The Fall Guy"
- Devil's Island (1983) TV Episode .... Mary Connors
I Want to Live (1983) (TV) .... Barbara Graham
Memories Never Die (1982) (TV) .... Joanne Tilford
Callie & Son (1981) (TV) .... Callie Bordeaux
... aka Rags to Riches
High Risk (1981) .... Olivia
... aka Gringos, Los (Mexico)
Nighthawks (1981) .... Irene
... aka Hawks
"Scruples" (1980) (mini) TV Series .... Billy Ikehorn

The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan (1979) (TV) .... Jennie Logan
The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel (1979) (TV) .... Meg Laurel
"The Six Million Dollar Man"
- Kill Oscar: Part 2 (1976) TV Episode .... Jaime Sommers
- The Return of Bigfoot: Part 1 (1976) TV Episode .... Jamie Sommers
- Big Brother (1976) TV Episode .... Jamie Sommers
- Love Song for Tanya (1976) TV Episode .... Jaime Sommers
- The Return of the Bionic Woman: Part 2 (1975) TV Episode .... Jamie Sommers
(3 more)
Second Wind (1976) .... Linda
"The Bionic Woman" (1976) TV Series .... Jaime Sommers
The Bionic Woman (1975) (TV) .... Jaime Sommers
... aka The Six Million Dollar Man: The Bionic Woman (USA: complete title)
"Marcus Welby, M.D."
... aka Robert Young, Family Doctor
- Dark Fury: Part 2 (1975) TV Episode .... Susan Davis
- Dark Fury: Part 1 (1975) TV Episode .... Susan Davis
- Don and Denise (1972) TV Episode .... Denise Malory
- All the Pretty People (1972) TV Episode .... Emily Matocsis
- The Best Is Yet to Be (1971) TV Episode .... Nurse Gledhill
"The Rockford Files"
... aka Jim Rockford, Private Investigator (USA: syndication title)
- Aura Lee, Farewell (1975) TV Episode .... Sara Butler
- Backlash of the Hunter (1974) TV Episode .... Sara Butler
The Rockford Files (1974) (TV) .... Sara Butler
... aka The Rockford Files: Backlash of the Hunter
The Paper Chase (1973) .... Susan
Two People (1973) .... Deirdre McCluskey
"Night Gallery"
... aka Rod Serling's Night Gallery (USA)
- Smile, Please (1972) TV Episode .... Girl
- The Diary (1971) TV Episode .... Nurse
"The F.B.I."
- Dark Journey (1972) TV Episode .... Laurie Peale
"O'Hara, U.S. Treasury"
- Operation: XW-1 (1972) TV Episode .... Edie Lang
"Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law"
- Until Proven Innocent (1971) TV Episode .... Diana Oliver
"Sarge"
- The Combatants (1971) TV Episode .... Laurie Meyers
"The Bold Ones: The Lawyers"
... aka The Lawyers
- In Defense of Ellen McKay (1971) TV Episode .... Stella Bowers
"The Man and the City"
- Disaster on Turner Street (1971) TV Episode .... Margie Holland
"Adam-12"
- Million Dollar Buff (1971) TV Episode .... Jenny Carson