Jan Smithers Net Worth, Now, Age, Wikipedia, and Wkrp

Jan Smithers Bio | Wikipedia

Jan Smithers is a retired American actress best known for playing Bailey Quarters on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982). She first reached the public eye as a teenager when, at 16, she was profiled and featured on the March 21, 1966, cover of Newsweek seated on the back of a motorcycle. Jan received offers from Hollywood agents as a result of that appearance.

Jan was the co-lead singer of the early 1970s band Hot Cup of Friends which featured Christopher Mancini (the son of Henry Mancini). She started her career as a model and later made a career in the field of acting. However, she got her first modeling project just by chance. Two men at a beach scouted her, and the next moment, Jan was on the cover of a leading magazine.

A photo of Jan on a motorcycle paved her way toward modeling and eventually to acting. Jan’s acting career mostly consists of TV shows, but she has done a few films, too. Jan had made brief appearances in a few TV series until ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ happened to her. However, this is the only long-running role Jan has done to date. She quit acting in the late 1980s.

Jan Smithers Age

Jan was born on July 3, 1949, in Los Angeles, CA, in the United States. She is 74 years old. Jan celebrates her birthday on July 3 every year.

Jan Smithers Height

She is a woman of above-average stature. Jan stands at a height of 5 ft 7 in ( approx. 1.7m ).

Jan Smithers Family

She was raised in Woodland Hills, just north of Los Angeles. She was one of four daughters in a typical middle-class family from San Fernando Valley. Jan’s father practiced law, while her mother took care of the household. Unfortunately, at the age of 21, Jan lost her eldest sister in a car accident.

Jan Smithers Husband

Jan’s first marriage was to Kipp Whitman from 1971 to 1972. From 1986 until 1995, Jan was married to actor James Brolin and was stepmother to his two children from a previous marriage; together they have one daughter, Molly Elizabeth. She filed for divorce from Brolin in 1995.

Jan Smithers Education

She attended the ‘William Howard Taft Charter High School’ in California. Jan later attended the ‘Chouinard Art Institute’ (now ‘California Institute of the Arts’) in Los Angeles. However, Jan dropped out soon to make a career in the field of acting.
While still in high school, she had a terrible car accident and injured her chin severely. The accident left a permanent scar near Jan’s chin area.

Jan Smithers Movies And TV Shows

– Love Story (1973) as Barbara.
– Where the Lilies Bloom (1974) as Devola.
– When the North Wind Blows (1974) as Lady in the Zoo.
– WKRP in Cincinnati (1978-1982) as Bailey Quarters.
– The Love Tapes (1980) as Carol Clark.
– The Fall Guy (1983) as Cynthia Caldwell.
– Legmen (1984) as Sarah Turner.
– Hotel (1984) as Lacey Grant.
– The Love Boat (1984) as Carol Cooperman.
– Mike Hammer (1984) as Shia Walters.
– Murder, She Wrote (1985) as Kathy Farrell.
– Hotel (1986) as Janice Copeland.

Karin Jan Smithers

She was born on July 3, 1949, as Karin Jan Smithers. Her entry into the world of fame was nothing short of serendipitous. On a day Jan decided to skip school, she was at a California beach with a friend when two men approached her. She started her career in modeling, appearing in print ads for cars and motorcycles.

Jan Smithers Now

Following living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Jan now lives in Ojai, California.

Poster Jan Smithers

Gallery of movie posters featuring Jan includes images for Where the Lilies Bloom, “WKRP in Cincinnati”.

Wkrp Jan Smithers | Wkrp In Cincinnati

Jan played Bailey Quarters on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982). The series was created by Hugh Wilson and was based on his experiences working in advertising sales at the Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta, including many of the characters. In June 2014, Jan attended a reunion of surviving WKRP in Cincinnati cast members hosted by the Paley Center for Media.

Jan Smithers And James Brolin | James Brolin

Jan began a relationship with actor James Brolin, whom she had met while filming an episode of ‘Hotel.’ In 1986, the two got married at the ‘Greenwood United Church’ in Nova Scotia. They had a daughter, Molly Elizabeth Brolin. Jan and James divorced in 1995. She cited lack of time for each other as the reason for her divorce from James. Jan said that James would travel extensively for work and that had eventually caused them to drift apart. In an episode of ‘Entertainment Tonight’ in 2001, she quelled the rumors that James had left her for Barbara Streisand.

Jan Smithers Hotel

Jan’s appearance in the TV series “Hotel” from 1984 to 1986 was particularly significant, not just for her role as Janice Copeland/Lacey Grant but also because it was during this time that she met actor James Brolin, leading to their marriage.