It's early morning in Los Angeles, Calif., and actress Jaclyn Smith is hard at work in her home office finalizing plans for the launch of her next clothing collection on the television shopping network HSN.
At 77, Smith is busier than ever. The actress, best known for her role as crime-fighter Kelly Garrett on the popular television show, “Charlie’s Angels,” has evolved into a savvy businesswoman. In addition to her clothing line, Smith has her own skincare, home textile and wig collections.
After “Charlie’s Angels” ended its five-year television run in 1981, Smith was approached by the retail chain Kmart to lend her name to a women’s apparel line. Smith was intrigued, she had always loved fashion and design and fondly remembered how her mother Margaret had once dreamed of becoming a clothing designer.
Yet Smith knew she wanted more than to just promote a clothing line, so she negotiated a deal with Kmart ensuring she could be involved in the actual design. The retailer agreed and the rest is history. In 1985, the Jaclyn Smith Collection premiered in 1,400 Kmart stores across the country, making the actress one of the first celebrities to create and grow a brand, rather than just lending their name to an existing collection. Smith’s Kmart line, which is no longer available, featured a ready-to-wear collection for women including blouses, jackets, pants, dresses and skirts. She and her daughter also debuted a layette collection for babies called Spencer by Jaclyn Smith.
“I learned a lot from having a clothing line with Kmart for 36 years,” admits Smith, whose contract with the retailer expired in July 2021. “Last year, I launched a new apparel line with Nordstrom Rack and this year I’m introducing a women’s clothing collection with HSN that I believe makes for an easier shopping experience.”
Smith describes her HSN collection as more fashion-forward than her Kmart line and says the clothes reflect the same classic separates that she enjoys wearing. Her clothing line sold out in her first HSN appearance this past January, and at press time, Smith was working on finalizing her next collection for the network.
Not only have Smith’s clothing designs evolved over the years, the way her collections are marketed has also changed. Smith remembers promoting her Kmart line through store appearances, print ads and television commercials. With HSN, she appears on the network to highlight pieces from her collection and offer styling tips.
Photo By Randee St. Nicholas
“My personal philosophy is all about making life beautiful without spending a fortune,” Smith says. “My HSN collection features an assortment of classic designs with one fashion forward piece. The designs are interchangeable and feature jackets, sweaters, shirts and slacks that help women build a timeless wardrobe.”
Smith appreciates that HSN allows her to sell her designs to a wider and more inclusive audience and that viewers can see how the clothes look on a variety of shapes and sizes.
“I think my clothing line reaches all ages, there’s no age limit on feeling and looking good,” Smith says. “My daughter Spencer will grab a duster cardigan from my collection and wear it over yoga pants, while I might wear the same sweater over a pair of slacks.”
Over the years, Smith has developed her own personal style, knowing the colors and clothing designs that looks good on her 5’7” frame. She hopes her HSN line will offer the same comfort and versatility to women and she balks at alleged fashion “rules” such as not wearing white after Labor Day.
On her Instagram page, @realjaclynsmith, Smith rocks a pair of white straight-leg jeans from her collection that she enjoys wearing year-round.
“Denim is an American tradition and I love styling my white jeans with a white top for a tonal look or with a black jacket for a more striking look,” she says.
Smith also has a line of wigs that she developed with her friend, celebrity hairstylist, Jose Eber.
“Wigs today are a fashion statement,” Smith says. “They allow women to try different hairstyles and color shades without breaking the bank.”
Her Greatest Accomplishments
Photo By Randee St. Nicholas
Although Smith has been overwhelmingly successful in her business ventures, she considers her greatest accomplishments to be her family. Married to her fourth husband, Brad Allen (a cardiothoracic surgeon) since 1997, Smith is the mother of two adult children, Gaston Richmond, 41, and Spencer Margaret Richmond, 37, and two grandchildren, Bea, 6 and Olivia, who turns 4 this month.
Smith first met Allen when her father, Jack, was undergoing heart surgery and Allen was her dad’s surgeon at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas. Over 25 years later, Smith admits she’s still very much in love with her husband.
“Brad and I see things the same way,” Smith says. “We have the same values and upbringing. When we got married, my children were young, and he’s been such an amazing second dad to them over the years.”
Smith says she and her husband enjoy many common interests including traveling and regular workouts. On her Instagram account, Smith has posted fun videos of the two exercising at home, with Smith doing sit-ups and giving her husband a kiss after completing each one.
Allen also partnered with Smith to develop the Jaclyn Smith Beauty skincare collection.
“Brad enhanced the collection that’s based on my own skincare regimen,” she says. “He understands skin types and chemistry and we worked together to develop a skincare line that’s both easy and effective for busy women to use.”
Smith also has a passion for home design and has enjoyed decorating her Georgian colonial home in Los Angeles that she purchased in the ‘90s. Throughout her home, she’s decorated with designs from her textile collection, Jaclyn Smith for Trend with Fabricut, a line primarily sold to interior designers.
During the pandemic, Smith says she remodeled several rooms, using fabric from her Inside Out Performance Fabric Collection, featuring adventurous patterns and saturated colors. In addition, the fabrics are durable, stain repellant and environmentally friendly, a perfect combination for Smith, who wants her house to also be a comfortable home, where her grandchildren can play freely.
Looking To The Future
Dancer. Model. Actress. Entrepreneur. Over the course of her career, Smith has done it all. After “Charlie’s Angels” ended, Smith continued to appear in a number of television shows, movies and miniseries. She starred as Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy in the 1981 television movie of the same name, earning a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of the former First Lady. She also hosted two seasons of the Bravo reality show, “Shear Genius” and made appearances in television shows including “Hope and Faith,” “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” and “The District.”
Today, Smith is working on her autobiography, which she says will cover both her career and her experience of having “the best family in the world.”
“My career has taken me to places I never thought I’d go,” Smith admits. “To be so busy at my age is incredible and I find the challenge of my work to be rejuvenating.”
Yet as busy as she is, Smith also knows the importance of cherishing time with her family.
“My son, Gaston, is co-owner of a new restaurant, The Local Cut, in Purcellville, Virginia,” she says. “He has one daughter, Olivia and another baby on the way. I’m so excited for him and can’t wait to visit his restaurant and try his Bolognese, a recipe he learned from his father (cinematographer Tony Richmond).”
Smith also enjoys time spent with Spencer and Bea, who live in Los Angeles. The two provided inspiration and direction for one of Smith’s last fashion ventures for Kmart, the Spencer by Jaclyn Smith layette collection, that premiered in 2017.
For Spencer’s birthday last year, Jaclyn celebrated with her daughter at Joshua Tree National Park in California.
“Spencer is the family member that takes us to the next level,” Smith recounted, posting photos of their trip on her Instagram account. “She is someone who has figured out how life works, she doesn’t try to take over the room, she watches and listens and then offers just the right insight into whatever we may be discussing. There is power in her reserve, she is adventurous and funny and someone you don’t forget.”
It sounds like Spencer takes after her mom.
