From Charlie’s Angels star, miniseries queen, and businesswoman Jaclyn Smith comes a heartfelt memoir chronicling the making of a global phenomenon and her story beyond the screen.

When the pilot aired to instant success in 1976, Charlie’s Angels ushered in a TV revolution—for the first time, a network show featured three single female detectives whose stories revolved around fighting crime, not around supporting men. Jaclyn Smith, as Kelly Garrett (the only Angel to lead all five seasons of the show), was propelled into international fame and became an icon to girls and women everywhere. Now, for the first time, she shares the behind-the-scenes story of the origin and making of the iconic show, along with her longtime friendships with her co-stars including Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Cheryl Ladd.

But, as Smith writes, she wasn’t born the first day she put on Kelly Garrett’s tiny white bikini. Before Charlie’s, she was a dancer on Broadway from Texas and a prolific commercial actress. After Charlie’s, she channeled her childhood love of design when she pioneered the concept of celebrity-branded clothing lines with a mega-successful K-Mart partnership. She now sells her clothing lines as a commercial branding partner on HSN. While balancing acting and entrepreneurship, and bravely facing breast cancer, she also found love and raised two beloved children.

Intimate, honest, and down-to-earth, I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie tells the life story of an accomplished woman who has inspired generations of Angels who have come after her.