HEART to heart
What attracted you to your new film, Samson?
Taking a trip to South Africa didn’t hurt! [Laughs] But you know, it’s really the script. It’s about faith and our connection to a higher power, which is so relevant today.
Can you relate?
Sure. When we function from self-serving passion, when we forget how our actions impact everything….
People can’t seem to forget the impact you had as Jaime Sommers on The Bionic Woman. Are you OK with that?
Oh, sure. I mean she was kind of cool.
Kind of? She was the coolest!
I have no problem with it because she was a really positive influence in so many people’s lives, and it didn’t hold me back from having a very colorful and successful career. [Even] young men have said how much The Bionic Woman meant to them, because it translated in their minds that they could be a strong male and still be sensitive.
Have you stayed close to the original bionic man, Lee Majors?
Yes! He lives in Texas, so we don’t socialize much, but a couple of times a year we get together for Comic Con–type things. He has a wonderful wife whom I adore.
I loved your TV movie reunions, but did you ever get tired of doing them?
On the third, I said, “I’m not going to do another unless you get them married. I don’t care if they have bionic babies or not. We have to let the audience off the hook on that.”
We thank you!
[Laughs] You are welcome!
And you two reunited last year for the Hallmark Channel movie Eat, Play, Love.
It was kind of funny, because we were playing adversaries in the beginning and then start falling in love. It was fun.
You’ve been a successful actress, so why did you get into motivational speaking?
I was working so much that I had to take a break after all those years, and helping my children and friends was a passion of mine. I started doing small retreats and teaching people techniques that were so helpful for me. It just went viral. I wasn’t expecting that. I ended up on the road for about 15 months.
You’ve talked about growing up in a home with domestic violence. Has connecting with others helped you?
It enhanced my belief that sharing your pain is the first big step. There is such power in sharing what’s been healed.
Are you fully healed from your past?
Our experience is our perception of it, not the thing itself. If we shift our perspective, we feel differently. When reality hit me, my whole life
“The Bionic
Woman was a powerful part of our
cultural revolution — [seeing] the feminine as important in humanity.” — Lindsay (with her 1977 Emmy
for The Bionic Woman)
changed. Because the power to experience your life the way you want to is within you.
How did you raise your sons Alex, 31, and Dorian, 35, from your third marriage, with a demanding career?
I bought a motor home trailer and told my agent, “I’m ready to go back to work, but my baby and the nanny come with me, and I’ll need 15- to 20-minute breaks to nurse.” I ended up working more in the next 18 months than I had in the previous two years! I met a different quality of people, because the only producers that would hire me were people who get it. That’s where faith comes in: If you stick with your instincts, you can go where you were hoping you would. That was a huge lesson.
Is there anything left on your to-do list?
I still have a lot I want to do! There are a couple of scripts I’ve found, one I definitely want to produce. Which is one reason I’m moving back to LA — I’ve been living in the mountains for a while. My sons are still in LA and I’m very close to them. The boys are very close, too, which is lovely.
Is it fair to say that raising them is your greatest accomplishment?
Yeah, it was the best part of my life. For all of the celebrities and films, nothing could pass the blessing of having my children. They are my joy!