Lynda Carter was born in Phoenix in 1951. She performed on a Talent Show at the age of five and was a singer in a band at high school and later in a group with her cousins. She was voted ‘Most Talented’ at Arizona State University but dropped out to pursue a career in music. She performed on tour with a band called The Garfin Gathering and won Miss World USA 1972.
She took acting classes in New York at this time and appeared in a number of B movies before getting her big break playing DC comic book heroine, Wonder Woman. The series lasted from 1975 to 1979.
Growing up, Lynda was a memorable and positive role model for me. I thought the costume was awesome. Now, I have mixed feelings about the way she was dressed. She is hardly wearing anything really, it’s a glorified bikini, she’s all boobs and legs. It’s a male fantasy, but it has to be said, it’s also a female fantasy, for women scrabbling for a postive role model. This was really all we had in the seventies. It was a very mysogynstic time. (Who am I kidding? It still is). We can see a woman’s beauty and power and sensuality on one hand, but on the other, these days, we can see that Wonder Woman was obviously objectified (but glad it was shorts rather than a skirt, a tad better) but all I saw as an eight year old girl, was a very positive, intelligent, beautiful, strong and kind character which maybe helped me get through some of my childhood angst, and the whole thing stays true to the DC comic books. And if it did feel very positive, maybe it was.
She wanted to play the part so that other women would relate to her. She said, ‘I want women to want to be me, or be my best friend!” That’s exactly how I felt. I wanted to be her, or be her best friend. So I think she nailed it!
She married her agent, Ron Samuels in 1977 and during the late seventies, she went back to her first love, which was music, and recorded an album called Portrait.
Unhappy in her marriage, Lynda began drinking heavily. In 1982, she left her home, leaving her husband a note. She sought a divorce, but she says she has no animosity towards him and wishes him well.
A few years later she met and married Washington, D.C. Attorney Robert A. Altman and had two children, Jessica and Jamie. She also sought help with her drinking and has been sober now for around 22 years. In 2016, she said, ‘After 18 years of recovery, I live every day with immense gratitude. I am forever thankful for my family and friends who stood by me and encouraged me… and for those who helped me heal.’ She emphasizes the importance of family support in addiction issues.
In 1993, just when Lynda thought she had it all, a perfect husband and two wonderful children, her husband was accused of bank fraud and their world imploded. A huge court case ensued. Lynda implies that those two and a half years, when they were clearing his name, were the worst of her life. Eventually, his name was cleared and they could finally get on with their lives.
After Wonder Woman, Lynda appeared in several musical T.V specials and a crime drama series called Partners In Crime in 1984. Then in the 1990’s, she appeared in several television movies and in the comedy/horror film, The Creature in The Sunny Side Up Trailer Park 2004, playing a has-been beauty queen. In 2005, she appeared in the remake of The Dukes Of Hazard and Disney movie ‘Sky High’ and guested in the vampire film ‘Slayer’ and the T.V series ‘Smallville.’
She has also done many voice overs, mostly for the video game, The Elder Scrolls.
She played ‘Mama Morton’ in the West End production of Chicago.
In 2007, she toured America with a one woman cabaret show, ‘An Evening with Lynda Carter.‘
In June 2009 and 2011, respectively, she released her second and third albums, a mix of jazz, country and pop. In 2015, she wrote and recorded five songs for the video game Fallout 4. In 2018, she released her fourth album, a bluesy record, where she duets two songs with her daughter Jessica.
Lynda was inadvertently, part of the Me too movement. In 2018, she spoke about being violated by a famous person, back in the day, but wouldn’t name names or describe incidents. She said the person was in the justice system at the time and was being held accountable for his crimes. She did say, however, that she thought every single woman in the Bill Cosby case was telling the truth.
In 2016, Lynda received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gracie Awards.
On April 3, 2018, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce proudly honored Carter with the 2,632nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Things In My Head 