Linda Jean Córdova Carter (born July 24, 1951), better known as Lynda Carter, is an American actress, singer, songwriter, model, and beauty pageant titleholder.
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, she was crowned Miss World USA 1972. She's most famously known for portraying Wonder Woman in the eponymous TV series (1975-1979). Coincidentally, another beauty pageant titleholder took the mantle several decades later, with her blessing and support. She also coincidentally enough has the same birthday as that film’s director.
Her film debut came in 1976 B-Movie Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw but she did most of her work on television. She's made countless appearances in TV series, most recently as US President Olivia Marsdin in Supergirl. Before that, she appeared in Smallville, joining a long list of previous DC Comics adaptations actors being recast as homage in new DC-inspired material.
Tropes in her works:
- The Cast Showoff: In the Wonder Woman episode called "Amazon Hot Wax", going undercover to stop extortionists in the record industry gives Diana Prince a chance to show off her vocal abilities. Lynda performs songs from her debut album Portrait as a form of advertisement for it.
- Cool Old Lady: She plays many roles like this in her later career and a quick look at any interview or her social media shows that she's very much one on real life.
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LGBT Fanbase: Playing Wonder Woman made her a queer culture icon, to the point that she has been the Grand Marshall at multiple Pride Parades. - Ms. Fanservice: Her Wonder Woman costumes were surely conceived for Fanservice, what with the impressive cleavage
◊ and short shorts. - Older Than They Look: Fitting for someone most famous for playing an immortal, she's in her seventies but looks no older than her early fifties.
- Slippery Swimsuit: The reason she wore a wetsuit while swimming as Wonder Woman and not as Diana Prince is that the original swimsuit for the superheroine - a bikini themed after her more famous costume - kept pulling a Houdini every time she swam in the damn thing. None of the footage featuring the two-piece has ever surfaced as of 2024.
- What Could Have Been: She has expressed desire to have a Remake Cameo in 2017's Wonder Woman, and director Patty Jenkins wanted this to happen, but a scheduling conflict due to Lynda's singing tour prevented it. She did make a cameo as Asteria for the sequel, Wonder Woman 1984. A similar situation happened with 2009's Wonder Woman, where she was offered to have a voice part in the movie, but also had scheduling conflicts.
