Lynda Carter is one of the most recognized faces in American television history. As an actress, model, singer, and songwriter, she built a career that stretched across decades and touched nearly every corner of the entertainment world. But long before she became a household name, she was a young woman from Arizona with a sharp ambition and a natural talent that would carry her all the way to the top. Her story begins not on a Hollywood set, but in a small television studio where a five-year-old girl stepped in front of a camera for the very first time.
Carter made her television debut on ‘Lew King’s Talent Show’ at the age of five. That early exposure lit a spark. Throughout her childhood and teenage years, she studied classical dance and drama, building a foundation that would serve her well in the years ahead. She briefly attended Arizona State University before leaving to tour the country with her high school rock band — a decision that said a lot about her drive and her willingness to take risks at a young age.
Music played a serious role in Carter’s early life. During high school, she was part of a group called ‘Just Us.’ At 16, she joined a band called ‘The Relatives’ alongside two of her cousins. One of the band’s drummers was actor Gary Burghoff, who would later become famous for his role in M*A*S*H. The group landed a three-month residency opening the lounge at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Because Carter was under 21, she had to enter the casino through the kitchen to avoid the gaming floor — a detail that paints a vivid picture of just how young she was while performing in one of America’s most glamorous venues.
In 1972, Carter launched her modeling career. The following year, she entered a local beauty competition and became Miss USA. Her beauty caught the attention of the world stage, and she was crowned Miss World USA in 1972. Both the International Academy of Beauty and the British Press Organization named her ‘The Most Beautiful Woman in the World.’ These were not minor titles — they opened major commercial doors. In 1974, she signed a contract to model for Maybelline cosmetics, a partnership that kept her face in living rooms across America for years. In 1979, she appeared in a Diet 7Up commercial alongside comedian Don Rickles.
Carter’s trip to London for the 1972 Miss World contest was a pivotal moment in her rise to international attention. Competing at the Royal Albert Hall, she stood among some of the most celebrated beauties from around the globe. The contest drew massive crowds and worldwide press coverage, and Carter held her own on one of the biggest stages of her young life.
Carter didn’t travel to London alone. She brought family with her to one of the biggest moments of her early career, a reflection of the close bonds that grounded her during a whirlwind period of competition and public attention.
Hollywood came calling shortly after Carter won her crown. She attended several acting schools in New York during the 1970s, training seriously and sharing the classroom with future CBS president Les Moonves. Her first acting role came in 1974 in the police drama ‘Nakia.’ Over the next year, she appeared in a string of television series, including ‘Matt Helm,’ ‘A Matter of Wife,’ and ‘Starsky and Hutch,’ while also taking on roles in several B movies. She was building a resume, one credit at a time.
By 1976, Carter was deep into her most defining role. ‘Wonder Woman’ had originally aired on ABC as a one-time special, but audience response pushed it into a full series by that year. There were genuine concerns among network executives that viewers wouldn’t accept a female lead carrying a superhero show. Those doubts were quickly silenced. CBS picked up the series and carried it for several years, with Carter at the center of every episode. The show made her a global icon almost overnight.
As ‘Wonder Woman’ grew into a cultural phenomenon, Carter’s public profile expanded far beyond the show itself. She appeared at major Hollywood events, walked red carpets, and became a fixture in celebrity circles. At the 34th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 1977, she arrived with her talent manager Ron Samuels — the man she would marry that same year — and was photographed alongside stars like Henry Winkler.
Carter married Ron Samuels, her former talent agent, in 1977. The two were a prominent couple throughout the late 1970s, appearing together at restaurants, Hollywood events, and industry gatherings. Their marriage lasted until 1982. In 1984, Carter married Washington, D.C. attorney Robert A. Altman, with whom she had two children, James and Jessica. Before either marriage, she had a romantic relationship with French singer Michel Polnareff.
Music never left Carter’s life even as her acting career soared. She performed in concerts throughout the late 1970s, showing audiences that she was far more than a television personality. Her voice was a genuine talent, and she leaned into it regularly during this period, taking the stage and holding her own as a live performer.
By 1980, Carter was one of the most photographed women in America. She attended premieres, charity events, and industry galas while keeping up her Maybelline commitments — including a press conference that year that drew significant media attention. She also appeared in an episode of ‘The Muppet Show’ in 1980, sharing the screen with Miss Piggy in one of the more playful moments of her career. London remained a regular destination, and photographers caught her jogging through Park Lane, looking every bit as vibrant off-screen as she did on it.
The early 1980s brought a new chapter. In 1983, Carter took on one of the most demanding roles of her acting career when she played Rita Hayworth in the television biopic ‘Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess.’ Portraying a real Hollywood legend required a different kind of performance than playing a fictional superhero, and Carter delivered. The role demonstrated a dramatic range that her ‘Wonder Woman’ fame had sometimes overshadowed. At the 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 1982, she appeared as one of Hollywood’s most polished presences on the red carpet.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Carter kept up a steady pace of television work. She starred in the television movie ‘Hotline’ and appeared in a variety of made-for-TV films during the 1990s, including ‘When Friendship Kills’ (1996), ‘She Woke Up Pregnant’ (1996), ‘A Prayer in the Dark’ (1997), ‘Someone to Love Me’ (1998), and ‘Family Blessings’ (1999). These roles kept her active in the industry even as the blockbuster fame of her Wonder Woman years settled into a quieter, more sustained career.
Carter’s work in the 2000s brought her to the big screen in a more visible way. In 2001, she portrayed Governor Jessiman in the comedy ‘Super Troopers.’ In 2005, she appeared in the major theatrical remake of ‘The Dukes of Hazzard,’ marking her first real big-screen Hollywood release. That same year, she played Principal Powers in Disney’s action-comedy ‘Sky High’ — a superhero high school principal, a nod to her famous past that audiences clearly enjoyed. In 2004, she was awarded the Superest Superhero award at the Second Annual TV Land Awards, a recognition of just how deeply her Wonder Woman role had settled into American pop culture. Carter also lent her voice to multiple entries in the Elder Scrolls video game series, and in 2015, she recorded the original soundtrack for the blockbuster game ‘Fallout 4.’ In 2008, she entered a rehabilitation clinic to treat alcoholism and has remained sober since.
