Cheryl Ladd wore tiny bikini to protest ‘Charlie’s Angels’ costume choices

Cheryl Ladd found herself slipping into so many bikinis on the set of “Charlie’s Angels” that she decided to take matters into her own hands.

In 1977, the actress took on the role of Kris Munroe in the iconic series after producer Aaron Spelling chose her to play Farrah Fawcett’s younger sister. The series, which followed the adventures of a glamorous detective agency, starred Jaclyn Smith, David Doyle, Kate Jackson and Fawcett, who was leaving that year. The show aired until 1981.

“He liked me in a bikini,” Ladd, 74, said about Spelling at the Paley Center’s PaleyFest L.A. panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Charlie’s Angels.”

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The star admitted she wore so many two-pieces in scenes that “it was starting to p— me off.”

“I thought, ‘OK, how am I going to get out of this?’” Ladd recalled at the panel. “So, I went out and bought the tiniest little bikini ever seen on television at that point.”

Ladd knew it wouldn’t pass ABC censors. She did it anyway.

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“We filmed, and I heard Aaron’s not happy,” she said.

“At first, somebody came and told me Aaron said, ‘Tell the little troublemaker that she’s never going to do that again,’” she said. “And I didn’t. But I made my point. And when I was wearing a swimming suit, it was something I felt comfortable in.”

“Well, our ratings went up!” Smith, 80, quipped.

Cheryl Ladd is seen here rocking a bikini during filming. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection)

Spelling died in 2006 at 83.

Things got serious at the panel. For the first time, Ladd opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis.

“Mine was an aggressive form,” Ladd, who was accompanied by Jackson and Smith, said. “I had wonderful doctors. But I was bald for quite a while. It was a humbling experience.”

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Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd attend the “Charlie’s Angels” 50th anniversary celebration. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

“I have a wonderful husband. All through it, he was there for me at every turn, and that makes a difference,” Ladd said, referring to her husband, Brian Russell. “Eventually, I started to get little sprouts of hair. It was like, ‘Oh, I’m getting hair!’ It was a long, long, hard road. But you just get through. You just get on with it.”

Not only do the three women share an unbreakable bond through their experience on the show, but they are all cancer survivors.

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“It just connects you because you know what they’re going through,” Smith, who was also diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent radiation treatment in 2002, said during an interview on the “Today” show. “And that’s when I talk about the power of girlfriends.”

Cheryl Ladd opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis for the first time during a “Charlie’s Angels’ 50th Reunion” on April 6, 2026. (Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images; Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

When Ladd disclosed her diagnosis to her friends, Smith said she immediately empathized.

“The first thing I did was send her my wigs,” Smith shared. “She was so brave. She did have a very aggressive form [of cancer].”

“It’s really important to understand and embrace not being afraid of getting a mammogram,” Jackson, a two-time breast cancer survivor, added. “Early detection is key. Find it early enough, and you’ll probably be all right.”

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Kate Jackson claimed “Charlie’s Angels” fame destroyed her privacy while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the hit show. (American Broadcasting Companies/Getty Images)

Ladd, Jackson and Smith also paid tribute to Fawcett, who appeared as one of the main Angels in the first season of the series. The actress died in 2009 at age 62 following a battle with anal cancer.

“Oh, I feel so proud. I feel appreciative. I feel we did something right,” Smith told Digital ahead of the panel. “And I feel I’m still standing here. And life has been interesting. It’s been a beautiful journey. Truly, I have two beautiful kids, a great husband and three granddaughters. So I’m riding high. And, you know, I think things are — ‘Charlie’s Angels’ was meant to be. I have no regrets.”

In 2021, Ladd opened up to Digital about her meaningful friendships with her former co-stars.

The cast of “Charlie’s Angels” poses with producer Aaron Spelling in Los Angeles, circa 1978. (Bret Lundberg/Getty Images)

“It’s really interesting because when you do something so specific, so iconic, and you are in it when it was huge — it is something you can explain to people, but until you’ve done it, it is different,” she continued.

“We think back often about how crazy that time was. We had to go into restaurants through the back door. We weren’t prepared for how much people would love the show. It was wonderful, but it was wild.”

Despite achieving fame in Hollywood, Ladd said her faith in God has always played a significant role in her life.

Cheryl Ladd visits SiriusXM at SiriusXM Studios on March 11, 2020, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

“It has been all of it,” she said. “I knew who I was as a young girl. I would climb to the top of the tree and talk to God all the time. It has been an interesting path — a lot of good, a lot of bumps, a lot of tough learning moments.

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Cheryl Ladd is seen here with co-star Tanya Roberts on the set of “Charlie’s Angels.” (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content)

“He [God] was with me the whole time. He lets us trip ourselves so we remember that He is in charge. I think that is a good thing, especially in our youth, when we aren’t exactly thinking everything through.”

Digital’s Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.