Jaclyn Smith, famous for her role in *Charlie’s Angels*, was married three times before she found true love with Dr. Brad Allen. Together, they faced many challenges, including her fight with cancer, which caused her a lot of worry.
In 1976, ABC launched the iconic show *Charlie’s Angels*, and Jaclyn Smith became a household name. She quickly rose to fame, and her role earned her many awards, including a Golden Globe nomination.
After *Charlie’s Angels*, Jaclyn appeared in many movies and TV shows. However, she wanted more than just a successful career. She dreamed of having a family, being married, and finding true love before starting a family. But finding the right person wasn’t easy for her.
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Jaclyn Smith was married three times before she found the right person, but her past relationships led her to the love of her life. Before becoming famous on *Charlie’s Angels*, she was married to actor Roger Davis from 1968 to 1975.
In 1976, during the time *Charlie’s Angels* was on the air, Jaclyn met her second husband when Dennis Cole guest-starred on the show. They married in 1978, but they separated in 1981. Despite the challenges, Jaclyn remained determined to find true love.
In 1981, Jaclyn married Tony Richmond, a well-known filmmaker. It seemed like she had finally found the right person to start her family. They had two children together: Gaston in 1982 and Spencer Margaret in 1985.
Being a mother became Jaclyn’s main focus. It was much more important than acting or any career. In 2017, she told People:
“The love that you have for your children, it’s like, ‘Oh my God. But this is even bigger — there are no words.”
Sadly, her relationship with their father ended, and they separated in 1989. But the fourth time was the charm. She met Dr. Brad Allen and married him in 1997. Their meeting seemed like something from a movie.
The surgeon, Dr. Brad Allen, had saved her father’s life, and after the surgery, Jaclyn’s mother encouraged him to speak with her. He later walked her to the hospital parking garage so she wouldn’t be alone.
Jaclyn fell in love with him because she saw “a purity of heart” in Allen, as she told *Closer Weekly* in 2014. Now, they are celebrating their 27th anniversary on October 11, and their love has stayed strong, showing that everyone can find the right person if they try enough times.
**Brad Allen: A Great Stepfather and Support During Cancer**
Jaclyn’s most important role is being a mother, and she’s also a grandmother now. But finding the right man meant marrying someone who could love her children, even if he wasn’t their biological father.
Brad Allen was perfect. He became a loving stepfather to Gaston and Spencer. However, their love would face a big test in 2002 that could have ended their relationship.
Jaclyn takes her health seriously and sees her doctors regularly. So, she went for a routine checkup in 2002. The doctor said they needed to do a biopsy on some of her breast tissue.
A biopsy doesn’t always mean something serious, and Jaclyn thought it would be fine. But a few days later, she was busy with errands and preparing for a trip to New York with Spencer, and didn’t expect bad news.
When Jaclyn entered the doctor’s office, she remembered the doctor asking if she “was alone.” Looking back, she said that was the first sign something was wrong. After that, the doctor gave her the news.
Jaclyn had cancer in her left breast. Luckily, it was small, and doctors found it early because she had regular mammograms. Still, hearing she had cancer was scary, and Jaclyn “panicked.”
All Jaclyn could think about was her trip to New York with her daughter, who was going to study dance with Alvin Ailey. Her daughter was still in high school, and Jaclyn was worried about both of them. Her son, who is four years older, was also on her mind.
Luckily, the doctor said her outlook was good, and they could use a gentle approach to treat it. But Jaclyn didn’t want that. She immediately asked for a mastectomy:
“I said right then, ‘Just take my breast off. I don’t want to deal with it.’ I just wanted to get it over with.”
Jaclyn later said she was not thinking clearly at the time. Her fear was too strong, and it guided her decision. That same day, she met with a surgeon. After calming down, she got in her car and called her family.
Both Brad Allen and Jaclyn’s mother didn’t want to believe the news about her cancer at first. But soon, they joined her in Los Angeles when they realized how serious it was. For Jaclyn, the hardest part was how little she knew about breast cancer.
She felt scared and couldn’t sleep, feeling overwhelmed. She was alone at the time and cried every morning during those first few days after hearing the news. “I went to a dark place. But then I read and educated myself,” Jaclyn said.
Luckily, Jaclyn was not alone in this. She had her loved ones to support her, and she also received comfort from her friends. One of her close friends, Kate Jackson, who was her co-star on “Charlie’s Angels,” had gone through breast cancer herself and helped guide her.
Once Jaclyn learned more about her condition, everything seemed clearer. The doctor told her that the cancer hadn’t spread to her lymph nodes, which made the treatment simpler. She wouldn’t need chemotherapy, which had been one of her biggest worries.
Jaclyn decided not to go through with the mastectomy. Instead, she had a lumpectomy and went through eight weeks of radiation after carefully considering her options. During this time, she was still busy with her career, working on her Kmart clothing line and home goods brand.
Jaclyn also appeared in the 2003 movie *Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle* alongside Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu. At the same time, she had a regular role on Craig T. Nelson’s show *The District*. But it wasn’t easy for her.
She explained, “I’d gone off hormones, so I did have some hot flashes. But I had so much love surrounding me, and work really made me feel good about myself too.”
Jaclyn said it was “amazing” how she went from being terrified to educating herself about the situation. In the end, she found the strength to fight for her health. She believes in facing fears head-on, a lesson she often shares with her children.
Most importantly, Jaclyn hopes everyone gets regular checkups because the best way to treat cancer is to catch it early. She shared that her mammogram the year before was perfect, with no signs of any issues. But just one year can make a big difference in your health.
Meet the two kids Sandra Bullock raised with late partner, Bryan Randall
In 2010, Sandra Bullock received a phone call that changed her life forever. “Your placement is here,” said the voice on the other end.
A few weeks later, she was on a stage, accepting her first Oscar for her appearance in The Blind Side, but she didn’t care she was there. “All I wanted was to go was just go home and feed Lou” she said of her newborn, whom she had been waiting for years to arrive.
Keep reading to learn more about this incredible actor and what inspired her to adopt two children!
In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana by flooding its grounds, Sandra Bullock had a feeling that inspired her decision to adopt a child.
“Katrina happened in New Orleans, and something told me, ‘My child is there.’ It was weird,” Bullock said in an interview with Today’s Hoda Kotb.
Years later, in January 2010, Bullock received the call she had been waiting years to receive.
Years later, in January 2010, Bullock received the call she had been waiting years to receive.
“He was unexpected, he was not planned. I got a call one day, ‘Your placement is here,’ and that’s after years after having filed it, years,” the 59-year-old star of Speed tells CBS News.
Little Lou
Gushing over Louis Bardo Bullock, the three-month-old boy from New Orleans she secretly adopted in 2010, Bullock said, “I looked at him like, ‘Oh, there you are.’ It was like he had always been there,” she recalled. “He fit in the crook of my arm. He looked me in the eyes. He was wise. My child was wise.”
The Miss Congeniality star adds, “The beautiful thing that I was constantly told was, ‘The perfect child will find you. You will find your child.’ But you don’t believe that when it’s not happening. When you’re going, ‘Where is my family?’ When it does happen, you know exactly what they’re talking about.”
Weeks after Lou arrived, Bullock was on stage at the Kodiak Theatre, accepting her first Oscar for her starring role in the film, The Blind Side.
But Lou owned her center stage and she wanted to be at home, with him.
“All I kept thinking about was, ‘He’s at home.’ Like, I didn’t care. I didn’t care that I was there, I just wanted to go home. And then I was sewn in the dress. I was sewn in the dress, and I had to get myself out of the dress, but all I wanted to do was just go home and feed Lou.”
Only days after, her marriage to reality star Jesse James came crashing down and Bullock became a single mother to an infant.
Bullock said, “I mean, so much had happened. How do you process grief and not hurt your child in the process? It’s a newborn, they take on everything that you’re feeling. So, my obligation was to [Lou] and not tainting the first year of his life with my grief.”
‘Louis’ got the stage’
“No one understands the shift in priorities about having a child in your life … until you have a child in your life,” Bullock said of shifting her focus from career to mom. “It naturally shifts…he showed up and now, Louis’ got the stage.”
Growing up in a healthy, happy environment, little Lou one day looked up at mom and predicted “I’m going to have a baby soon.”
Though Bullock admits she wasn’t planning on growing her family, she listened to her son, who planted the seed.
“I realized at that time, maybe he knew something. And when I think about it, it would have been around the time that Laila was born,” Bullock said. “It’s Louis’ way. Louis has a very strong way. He’s a fine leader, and he led me to Lai.”
Laila, who was living in foster care in Louisiana, is her daughter who joined the family in 2015 when she was three.
Recalling Laila’s trauma from being in childcare, the Ocean’s 8 star said, “She’d be in the closet with all her clothes on, she’d be on a bookshelf, she’d be hiding, she’d always be ready to leave,” the actress recalled of her daughter, adding that she always made sure Laila knew that she wasn’t “going anywhere.”
She then shared a conversation she had about Laila with Bryan Randall, the father figure to her children, and her partner from 2015 until ALS claimed his life in 2023. She said, “My partner said to me, ‘When she’s been with us longer than she hasn’t been, I have a feeling we’re going to see a change.’”
He was right. Recently, Bullock described Laila as “unafraid.”
“She’s a fighter, and that’s the reason she’s here today. She fought to keep her spirit intact. Oh my God, what she is going to accomplish. She’s going to bring some real change.”
Lou, now 13, “is super sensitive…He’s wise and kind,” the Bird Box star tells People. “I saw that when they handed him to me. There was a spiritual bigness to him.”
Though fans will be disappointed, the versatile actor is scaling back her work schedule to again be a single mother.
Bullock last appeared in 2022’s The Lost City with Channing Tatum and Bullet Train with Brad Pitt.
“I can be creative, I can be part of a community, but right now, work in front of the camera needs to take a pause,” she said.
What do you think of Sandra Bullock and her little family? Please share your thoughts with us and then share this story so we can hear what others have to say!
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