Early Life
Jan Smithers was born on July 3, 1949, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.
She grew up in a middle-class family with her parents and three sisters. Her eldest sister tragically passed away at the age of 21 in a car crash.
Career
Smithers first gained public attention as a teenager when she was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 1966, riding on the back of a motorcycle. This exposure led to offers from Hollywood agents.
She attended the Chouinard Art Institute (now known as the California Institute of the Arts) and later pursued a career in fashion modeling.
Acting Career
Smithers made her mark on the big screen with roles in films such as Where the Lilies Bloom (1974), where she played alongside a household of children surviving in the Appalachian Mountains.
In 1978, she landed her most notable role to date as Bailey Quarters on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which she played until 1982.
Personal Life
Smithers was married twice: first to Kipp Whitman from 1971 to 1972 and then to actor James Brolin from 1986 to 1995. During her marriage to Brolin, she became a stepmother to his two children from a previous relationship.
The couple had one daughter together, Molly Elizabeth, but eventually filed for divorce in 1995.
Later Life and Career
After living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, for several years, Smithers returned to California. In June 2014, she attended a reunion of the surviving WKRP in Cincinnati cast members hosted by the Paley Center for Media.