Cheryl Ladd sits in the library of her Boerne home, surrounded by books and movie scripts. But she’d rather talk about helping kids than about her long career in Hollywood. Ladd learned early on that she could use her influence to help others, and this intersection of celebrity and child advocacy has defined her life for decades.
Cheryl Ladd grew up as Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor in Huron, South Dakota, where her father worked as an engineer on the Chicago Northwestern Railroad. “It was the perfect place to grow up,” she says. “It was all safe, good schools and great teachers, lots of friends.”
From early on, Ladd’s interests were clear: “Singing, acting, dancing. Everything about me was
performing.” While in high school, Ladd traveled and sang with a local band, playing popular songs in clubs and bars she wasn’t legally allowed to be in. Ladd was “discovered” while singing in Wyoming, which led to an invitation to California and her first Hollywood job: a singing role as Melody Valentine in the animated series “Josie and the Pussycats.” Parts on TV shows like Happy Days and The Partridge Family followed.
A Big Break
“I’d worked for Aaron Spelling several times,” Ladd recalled. “He reached out to me when Farrah
Fawcett was leaving Charlie’s Angels and asked me to join the show.” Ladd initially said no.
“I hadn’t seen Charlie’s Angels, and I wanted to be a ‘serious actor.’ I took myself very seriously,” she said, laughing. But Spelling was persistent. After an extensive search, he came back to Ladd to discuss the role of Chris Monroe. “That was Aaron’s genius, making me Farrah’s little sister. I wouldn’t be replacing Farrah. I would already be in the family.” Ladd suggested playing Chris as a rookie and bringing in some humor. “I could see it working,” she said. So she took the role in Charlie’s Angels’ second season and stayed for four years. “That was the rocket ship,” she remembers.
But fame, Ladd learned, wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Ladd’s daughter Jordan was two-years-old when she started Charlie’s Angels. “That was tough, to spend all that time away from my daughter. You know, it’s funny, you get this big part, all your hard work is paying off, and then you’re not spending time with your daughter. I was really torn, constantly.” It was also hard on her marriage with her first husband, David Ladd. “We just didn’t make it. It was too big a change, too fast, too much. I had to be Cheryl Ladd all the time. Very few moments of my life then were Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor.”
Finding Purpose in Fame
Reflecting on her journey, Ladd notes: “Sometimes things happen and you ask, ‘Why is this happening?’ And then eventually you figure out that God wanted you to turn in this direction or that direction. And sometimes he has to give you a little push.” One divine push led to a lifelong passion and a mission. “I’m reading the newspaper one morning,” Ladd remembers. “Jordan is playing on the floor, and I see this headline: Father kills child. It just struck me, and I couldn’t sleep. It kept coming into my mind. My sisters and brothers and I were so loved by our parents. I just couldn’t imagine anyone hurting a child. I did some research and learned that child abuse was an epidemic in our country. And I just couldn’t bear it.”
Charlie’s Angels was a hit, and ABC wanted to do a “movie of the week” starring Cheryl Ladd. And she was ready with a pitch. “I told the executives, ‘I want to do a movie about child abuse and I want to play the abuser.’ You could hear crickets!” “’I know, it’s a tough subject,’ I told them, ‘but it needs to be brought out in the open.’” Though still a young actor, Ladd’s celebrity gave her leverage, and she fought for the show. “Maybe that’s why I got to be a Charlie’s Angel,” she mused. “Because we got to do this movie.” The movie, “When She Was Bad”, gave Ladd a platform. While talking about the need to raise awareness of child abuse on the Dinah Shore show, she asked for anyone working to fight child abuse to contact her.
A phone call came in before she even walked off the stage. It was Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, former actors who gave up their acting careers to found Childhelp, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse. That was 44 years ago, and Ladd has been an ambassador for Childhelp ever since. In that time, she has seen the horrible impacts of child abuse as well as great transformation and healing that can happen
when kids receive genuine care and love. “I’ve seen miracles happen,” Ladd says.
Ladd has stayed busy acting on television, in feature films and recording music. Her recording career led her to meet Brian Russell, a songwriter and her husband of 42 years. This long and diverse career has helped Ladd maintain her platform and her influence. Ladd’s advocacy, and that of others like Reba McEntire, has helped grow Childhelp into one of the largest child abuse prevention and treatment organizations in the United States. “God wanted me to be part of it. I have been for a long time, and I will be for as long as I can do it. Just like Sara and Yvonne, who are still going strong to protect children. They’re my heroes.”
Ladd looks back gratefully on her journey. “Having celebrity and success, I thought that was going to make my life. I see now that God had a different plan. I’m so honored that I get to use my celebrity to raise awareness and help others. That’s what is really important.”
And what does Cheryl Ladd see looking back on her life and career? “God had it all worked out from the beginning.”
“Having celebrity and success, I thought that was going to make my life. I see now that God had a different plan. I’m so honored that I get to use my celebrity to raise awareness and help others. That’s what is really important.”