Shelley Hack profile

Shelley Hack was born in Connecticut, where her stunning beauty was apparent almost from the outset. She started modelling before she was out of her teens, but she was also a bright young thing who was careful not to neglect her studies. In fact, she went onto do a degree in archaeology.

However, despite her academic interests, Shelley knew that acting was what she really wanted to do. Her modelling experience opened doors for her, and she made her debut in Woody Allen's Oscar-winning comedy Annie Hall, in which she had just one line (Allen asks her how she manages to hold down a happy relationship, and she responds "I'm very shallow and empty and I have no ideas and nothing interesting to say").

Small screen stardom

It wasn't acting that actually brought Shelley Hack to the attention of the Charlie's Angels producers. In fact, in a rather fitting turn of events, she was noticed thanks to her stint as the face of a perfume called Charlie.

The "Charlie girl" was selected by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg – the co-creators of the series – when they were faced with replacing the "smart" Angel Sabrina Duncan (played by Kate Jackson). They wanted to cast someone similarly subtle and refined, and Shelley's classical beauty was just the ticket. Her arrival on Charlie's Angels was a bit of a watershed moment, marking a unique period in the history of the show.

The brief reign of Tiffany Welles

The addition of Shelley to Charlie's Angels was a bit of a gamble for the producers. Not because of any lack of talent on her part (she was probably one of the best actors to appear on the show, in fact), but because her character Tiffany Welles was so different to the other Angels.

Tiffany was unashamedly aloof and proud – the polar opposite of cheery, giggly, "approachable" Angels like Jill Munroe. Critics welcomed this change of tone, and the way it made the dynamics of the show more interesting, but audiences didn't know what to make of this posh princess who had joined the team. After a year, the producers decided it was time to replace her with a new Angel, and Tiffany was no more. Still, Tiffany's standing among fans has grown over the years, and she's now regarded as one of the most interesting Angels of the lot.

From Angel to media guru

The end of her tenure on Charlie's Angels certainly didn't harm Shelley's acting career. Throughout the 80s and 90s she appeared in a range of very different productions, from the acclaimed 1983 Robert De Niro film The King of Comedy to TV shows like SeaQuest, LA Law and Diagnosis Murder.

In a rather abrupt shift, Shelley gave up acting in 1997 to become a producer and all-round media guru. One of her biggest projects was producing the first presidential TV debates held in post-war Bosnia, and she continues to be a media consultant for production companies in the region. Not just a pretty face, then...

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