Lynda Carter, best known as network television’s live-action Wonder Woman, was honoured with the 2,632nd star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
The TV star struck poses calling back to her small-screen alter ego — planting her fists firmly on her hips and crossing her arms on her chest — and turned the ceremony into a celebration of her family, friends and fans of the comic-book hero.
“Wonder Woman gave birth to my career, and now we have come full circle and we have millions of new fans,” said the statuesque actress, 66, noting the new fandom sparked by 2017’s blockbuster film starring Gal Gadot.
“It seems impossible, but I have been in the entertainment industry for more than 50 years — do the math — and I have loved it all,” the jubilant star said, receiving cheers from the boisterous crowd.
The former beauty queen, who portrayed Amazonian princess Diana Prince on ABC and CBS series from 1975 to 1979, has established a career as a singer while racking up film and TV credits. Then, at the height of her success, she retreated from the limelight to raise her children.
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Leron Gubler ran through a list of Carter’s achievements, noting that she made her TV debut at age 5, then made her professional singing debut at age 14. She became Miss World America in 1972 and was a spokesperson for Maybelline cosmetics.
But it was her portrayal of Wonder Woman, he said, “a character she infused with such depth and humour,” that made the super heroine one of the “most indelible characters in television history.”
Director Patty Jenkins, who helmed 2017’s film adaptation, and CBS honcho Les Moonves, a close friend of Carter and her husband, Robert A. Altman, were also on hand to honour the actress. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, actress Marilu Henner and basketball coach Pat Riley joined the throngs who came out to show their support.
“In my youth, no one was more rebellious,” Jenkins said. “In my eyes, Lynda Carter is one of the greatest rebels then and now. Because while everyone else told me that I had to choose — serious or feminine, attractive or strong — only Lynda did whatever the hell she wanted to do. And she did both in everything she did.”
Jenkins said Carter’s portrayal of Wonder Woman made her fall in love with her because “her Wonder Woman made me believe that I could have whatever I wanted, and even more importantly, it made me unashamed to want it.
