Lynda Carter kicked off her career as a musician – as a teenager she'd been in a band with M*A*S*H star Gary 'Radar O'Reilly' Burghoff – but the future Wonder Woman made her name after appearing in a series of beauty pageants, including a triumph at the Miss World USA contest in 1972. Acting classes followed, as did a series of bit parts in shows like Starsky and Hutch, before she landed the role that made her famous all over the world.
After 59 episodes Wonder Woman was canned as the audience dwindled – the protagonist's sudden ability to telepathically communicate with dolphins may have stretched credulity, as did the introduction of an indestructible chimp – but Carter remained serious box office.
