Cheryl Ladd says she wore ‘tiniest bikini ever’ to make point to ‘Charlie’s Angels’ producers

Cheryl Ladd recovered herself slipping into truthful galore bikinis connected nan group of “Charlie’s Angels” that she decided to return matters into her ain hands.

In 1977, nan character took connected nan domiciled of Kris Munroe successful nan iconic bid aft shaper Aaron Spelling chose her to play Farrah Fawcett’s younger sister. The series, which followed nan 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 maine successful a bikini,” Ladd, 74, said astir Spelling astatine nan Paley Center’s PaleyFest L.A. sheet celebrating nan 50th day of “Charlie’s Angels.”

The prima admitted she wore truthful galore two-pieces successful scenes that “it was starting to p— maine off.”

“I thought, ‘OK, really americium I going to get retired of this?’” Ladd recalled astatine nan panel. “So, I went retired and bought nan tiniest small bikini ever seen connected tv astatine that point.”

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

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

“At first, personification came and told maine Aaron said, ‘Tell nan small troublemaker that she’s ne'er going to do that again,’” she said. “And I didn’t. But I made my point. And erstwhile I was wearing a swimming suit, it was thing I felt comfortable in.”

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

Spelling died successful 2006 astatine 83.

Things sewage superior astatine nan panel. For nan first time, Ladd opened up astir her bosom crab diagnosis.

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

“I person a awesome husband. All done it, he was location for maine astatine each turn, and that makes a difference,” Ladd said, referring to her husband, Brian Russell. “Eventually, I started to get small sprouts of hair. It was like, ‘Oh, I’m getting hair!’ It was a long, long, difficult road. But you conscionable get through. You conscionable get connected pinch it.”

Not only do nan 3 women stock an unbreakable enslaved done their acquisition connected nan show, but they are each crab survivors.

“It conscionable connects you because you cognize what they’re going through,” Smith, who was besides diagnosed pinch bosom crab and underwent radiation curen successful 2002, said during an question and reply connected nan “Today” show. “And that’s erstwhile I talk astir nan powerfulness of girlfriends.”

When Ladd disclosed her test to her friends, Smith said she instantly empathized.

“The first point I did was nonstop her my wigs,” Smith shared. “She was truthful brave. She did person a very fierce shape [of cancer].”

“It’s really important to understand and clasp not being acrophobic of getting a mammogram,” Jackson, a two-time bosom crab survivor, added. “Early discovery is key. Find it early enough, and you’ll astir apt beryllium each right.”

Ladd, Jackson and Smith besides paid tribute to Fawcett, who appeared arsenic 1 of nan main Angels successful nan first play of nan series. The character died successful 2009 astatine property 62 pursuing a conflict pinch anal cancer.

“Oh, I consciousness truthful proud. I consciousness appreciative. I consciousness we did thing right,” Smith told Fox News Digital up of nan panel. “And I consciousness I’m still opinionated here. And life has been interesting. It’s been a beautiful journey. Truly, I person 2 beautiful kids, a awesome hubby and 3 granddaughters. So I’m riding high. And, you know, I deliberation things are — ‘Charlie’s Angels’ was meant to be. I person nary regrets.”

In 2021, Ladd opened up to Fox News Digital astir her meaningful friendships pinch her erstwhile co-stars.

“It’s really absorbing because erstwhile you do thing truthful specific, truthful iconic, and you are successful it erstwhile it was immense — it is thing you tin explicate to people, but until you’ve done it, it is different,” she continued.

“We deliberation backmost often astir really crazy that clip was. We had to spell into restaurants done nan backmost door. We weren’t prepared for really overmuch group would emotion nan show. It was wonderful, but it was wild.”

Despite achieving fame successful Hollywood, Ladd said her religion successful God has ever played a important domiciled successful her life.

“It has been each of it,” she said. “I knew who I was arsenic a young girl. I would climb to nan apical of nan character and talk to God each nan time. It has been an absorbing way — a batch of good, a batch of bumps, a batch of reliable learning moments.

“He [God] was pinch maine nan full time. He lets america travel ourselves truthful we retrieve that He is successful charge. I deliberation that is simply a bully thing, particularly successful our youth, erstwhile we aren’t precisely reasoning everything through.”

Fox News Digital’s Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.