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Karin Jan Smithers (born July 3, 1949), best known as Jan Smithers, is an American television and film actress, who is best known for playing Bailey Quarters on the television series WKRP in Cincinnati.

Life and career

Smithers grew up in Woodland Hills, California. She attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills. She first reached the public eye as a teenager, when she was featured on the March 21, 1966, cover of Newsweek, seated on a motorcycle.^[1] As a result of that exposure, she landed some commercial modeling work while pursuing studies at the California Institute of the Arts.

As a teen, Smithers was victim of a car accident that left a permanent scar on her chin. To avoid another car that had run a stop sign, Smithers swerved and hit a telephone pole. The impact smashed her face into the steering wheel, causing the injury. The scar cost her some roles and, according to her, made her feel insecure about her looks.

In September 2007, she was involved in another traffic accident. In one report by the World Entertainment News Network, her car broke down while she was driving naked, and she was struck and injured when she exited her vehicle for assistance.^[2] A posting on Monsters and Critics by someone purporting to be Smithers disputed the claim she was driving naked when she was hit and injured.^[3]

She was married to Kipp Whitman (1 December 1971 - 1972) (divorced)

From 1986-1995, she was married to actor James Brolin. They had one daughter together. Although she had been living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and had retired from show business, she now lives in Ojai, California, and is reported to be considering a return to acting.^[1]

In 2001, Smithers appeared on Entertainment Tonight specifically to quash the rumor that Barbra Streisand had stolen actor James Brolin away from her. She said she and Brolin had broken up years before Brolin met Streisand.

Filmography

• Mr. Nice Guy (1987) as Lise
• Hotel as Janice Copeland (2 episodes, 1984-1986)
• Comedy Factory as Barrie Shepherd (1 episode, 1985)
• Murder, She Wrote as Kathy Farrell (1 episode, 1985)
• Cover Up as Karen Morris (1 episode, 1985)
• Mike Hammer (1 episode, 1985)
• The Love Boat (4 episodes, 1982-1984)
• Finder of Lost Loves as Barbara Hensen (1 episode, 1984)
• Legmen as Sarah Turner (1 episode, 1984)
• The Fall Guy as Cynthia Caldwell (1 episode, 1983)
• WKRP in Cincinnati as Bailey Quarters (86 episodes, 1978-1982)
• The Love Tapes (1980) (TV) as Carol Clark
• Our Winning Season (1978) as Cathy Wakefield
• Starsky and Hutch as Sharman Crane (1 episode, 1976)
• Where the Lilies Bloom (1974) as Devola
• When the North Wind Blows (1974)
• Love Story as Barbara (1 episode, 1973)

References

External links

• Jan Smithers at TV.com
• Jan Smithers at the Internet Movie Database