Charlie’s Angels star Kate Jackson came up with the show’s name but was never credited

Popular action series, Charlie's Angels is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Released in 1976, the show featured Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett as Kelly Garrett, Sabrina Duncan and Jill Munroe respectively.

During the anniversary celebration on April 6, 2026, Kate revealed that she was the person behind the show's iconic name, but was neither credited nor paid for the contribution.

Kate Jackson came up with the name Charlie's Angels

The iconic name, Charlie's Angels, would never have happened if not for Kate Jackson. The popular action series was supposed to be named The Alley Cats but Kate suggested the other name. However, she was not given the due credit.

During the show's 50th anniversary celebration, the 77-year-old actress shared memories with the media from the day she came up with name during a meeting with producer Aaron Spelling.

"I was looking down…while he was telling me the story of The Alley Cats thinking, 'That's the worst idea I've ever heard in my life. What's going to happen when I look up? Is my top lip going to stick to my teeth or am I going to be smiling?'", she recalled.

Kate could not remain tight-lipped and ended up expressing her dislike for the name. She further recalled, "Aaron pointed at my pink revision pages and said, 'Well, what's that? Have you got something?' I said, 'Well, yeah.'

She started narrating her idea and added that an oil painting of three angels in the producer's office was what made her come up with the name. Talking about being given no credit, Kate continued, "I never heard of the words 'intellectual property,' and I thought in order to copyright something, you had to actually have the money to produce it".

She added, "But I'm still proud to have been part of it. I'm proud to have had an idea that kind of set the world on fire for a while. It was fun."

Kate Jackson rose to fame with her work in Charlie's Angels and the actress agreed that the show changed her life forever. The pilot of the ABC show was incredibly successful and Kate went on to play Sabrina for three seasons, till 1979. The show ended after five seasons in 1981.

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.