Loni Anderson George Rose/Getty Images
Loni Anderson became a household name after starring as Jennifer Marlowe in WKRP in Cincinnati — and four decades later, she still can’t help but praise the trailblazing character.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, the actress, 78, opened up about the role that earned her three Golden Globe nominations and two Emmy Award nominations. “She was the smartest person in the room. She spoke seven languages and she took care of everybody like she was their mom,” Anderson shares. “And yet she was a bombshell, so it made her so interesting.”
Anderson believes Jennifer — the sitcom’s receptionist who was revered for having both beauty and brains — helped inspire the next generations. “Young women, especially, identified with [the idea that] you can be hot and also be the smartest person in the room,” she explains. “It was a wonderful thing.”
Anderson has an idea of where the character would be today. “I do think that she’s running the show somewhere,” she tells Us. “She is definitely a CEO, because she really ran the station.”
Next up for Anderson? Lifetime’s Ladies of the 80s: A Divas Christmas, in which she stars alongside fellow legends Morgan Fairchild, Linda Gray, Donna Mills and Nicollette Sheriden — all of whom play soap opera divas who reunite for a holiday special.
According to Anderson, it was one project she couldn’t turn down. “When it was presented to me, [I said], ‘First of all, I want to be with these ladies’ and the script was so adorable — these five divas, what a great idea!” she shares. “I was on board immediately.”
Teaming up with the women was more play than work — “[There were] some laughs in the makeup and hair department,” she explains — and the group had a wonderful time going down memory lane.
“We were all talking about the old days. Linda explained to us how crazy it was in her life when the ‘Who shot J.R.?’ [phenomenon] happened,” she recalls of the Dallas star. “We learned backstage stuff that happened, because in that era, you had a secret and you had to carry it all the way through.”
Of course, the ladies also inquired about each other’s beauty secrets: “You can’t help but want to know [about] Donna — How do you stay looking like that? What is the deal? I know you have good genes, but wow, magic!”
Looking back on her career, Anderson knows what she hopes her legacy will be: “I hope that I’ll be remembered for changing the whole look of a young woman with a career.”
“My granddaughters are like, ‘What? Was it ever any different?’ Yes, it was,” she adds. “My daughter’s generation felt that they were able to do anything and still be cute — and my granddaughter’s generation doesn’t even think a thing of it.”
Ladies of the ‘80s: A Divas Christmas premieres on Lifetime Saturday, December 2, at 8 p.m. ET.