CHERYL LADD
THE CHARLIE’S ANGELS ICON OPENS UP ABOUT AGING WITH OPTIMISM
The Charlie’s Angels star reveals her new outlook on life and why it’s changed her perspective on aging.
Leave it to an Angel to find a miracle cure. “My eyesight was getting progressively worse and worse, and I went to my doctor, and he said, ‘Well, in fact you have cataracts,’” Cheryl Ladd, who skyrocketed to fame in the ’70s as one of the stars of
Charlie’s Angels, tells Closer in an exclusive interview. “We talked about possible surgery, and I had the option of having the PanOptix trifocal lenses. Now I’m seeing like a 12-year-old!”
And that has given Cheryl, 68, a different perspective on life. “Knock on wood, my health is excellent,” she says. “Nobody wants to get older, but I feel like I’ve gotten a whole bunch of my youth back by getting these lenses and being able to see. I feel really optimistic about aging.”
She also draws on her faith for strength. “I take care of my spiritual self,” Cheryl says. “I go to church, and I have a relationship with the Lord.”
NOT SLOWING DOWN
Her improved visual abilities have allowed Cheryl to give a new focus to her work. “Reading scripts, I don’t have to run around trying to remember where I put my glasses,” says the actress, who recently shot a Christmas movie for Lifetime. “It’s just so freeing, I can’t tell you.”
Better eyesight has also helped in her work with Cheryl Ladd Signature Homes, a house-design company she started in San Antonio, Texas. “I can see all kinds of colors and the vibrancy of things so much clearer,” she says.
Cheryl collaborates on creating the homes with Brian Russell, her husband of nearly 40 years. “We each have our own areas within house design,” she says.
What’s the secret to their marital success? “Not only do we love each other, we really like each other — we’re still best friends,” gushes Cheryl. “Finding the one who wants to love the way you want to love — that’s the ticket!”
Cheryl has a close relationship with Lindsay, Brian’s daughter from an earlier marriage, as well as with her daughter Jordan, from her marriage to David Ladd. “Jordan is an actress, and Lindsay is an actress and a musician, so they’re both in the business,” she says. “They both got that bug.”
When Jordan was little, Cheryl worked long hours on Charlie’s Angels. “We shot 12-hour days, and when we weren’t doing that,
we were doing press and wardrobe fittings,” Cheryl recalls. “It was all-consuming. That was a difficult time.”
After Angels ended in 1981, Cheryl put more emphasis on family time. “You do have to make choices, and I don’t know if that helped or hurt my career,” she says. “All I know is that I never regretted spending the time with my children.”
Now that they’re grown, Cheryl can pursue her own passions. “Life is short, so if you have a great idea for something you’ve always wanted to do, I would say just jump in with both feet,” she shares. “A lot of people go, ‘Oh, I’m 65, and I’m kind of done.’ No! There is no done! I don’t feel done.”
Far from it, in fact. “I still feel excited about life, and that makes it fun to get up every morning,” she says. “I just enjoy life! I have two darling dogs and three grandchildren. My life is full and happy, and I just feel really blessed.” We wouldn’t expect anything less from an Angel. —
“Life has a way of kicking you in the pants, but you have to pick up and move on.”