October 29, 1948

Actress Kate Jackson, best known for her role in the hugely successful television series “Charlie’s Angels,” was born in Birmingham on this day. Jackson is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated veteran of dozens of films and several television series and has appeared as a guest star on numerous television shows. She is also an outspoken advocate for women’s health issues, having survived two bouts of breast cancer as well as open-heart surgery.

She was born Lucy Kate Jackson to Hogan and Ruth Jackson. Her father was the wealthy president of a building-supply company. Jackson has one sibling. She attended private schools in Birmingham, graduating in 1966. She enrolled in the University of Mississippi as a history major but transferred in her sophomore year to Birmingham-Southern College, where she took her first theater class. Although Jackson graduated with a degree in history, her career path led to Hollywood.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Studio photo of actress Kate Jackson from the television program “Charlie’s Angels,” Dec. 7, 1976. (ABC Television, Wikipedia)

Publicity photo of the cast of the television program “Charlie’s Angels.” From left: Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Kate Jackson, Dec. 21, 1976. (ABC Television, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.