Jayne Kennedy Overton (née Harrison; born October 27, 1951) is an American television personality, actress, model, corporate spokeswoman, producer, writer, public speaker, philanthropist, and sports broadcaster.
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Personal life
Jayne Kennedy was born Jayne Gill Harrison in Washington, D.C., one of six children. Her parents Herbert and Virginia Harrison taught their children to "aim high, give God most of the credit, suffer disappointments silently, and avoid maliciousness." Kennedy was raised in Wickliffe, Ohio. In high school, she was on the cheerleading squad, was a member of the National Honor Society, was vice-president of the sophomore class, and president of the junior class.
A year after graduating from high school, Harrison met Leon Isaac Kennedy, a DJ and a struggling writer/actor. They married in 1971. Motown singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson served as best man at their wedding. They divorced in 1982.
In May 1985, Kennedy married actor Bill Overton in Bermuda. The wedding was small, and the parents of both Kennedy and Overton attended. The couple has four children: Overton's daughter Cheyenne (b. 1982) and their three daughters Savannah Re (b. November 20, 1985), Kopper Joi (b. May 17, 1989) and Zaire Ollyea (b. September 15, 1995). Kennedy and Overton celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in May 2020.
Career
Kennedy was crowned Miss Ohio USA in 1970, going on to compete in the top ten in Miss USA 1970.
In 1971, Kennedy first appeared as a dancer in Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, and performed with Bob Hope's Bases Around the World Christmas Tour (Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Spain, and Cuba), which led to three years with The Dean Martin Show as a singer/dancer.
Throughout the 1970s, Kennedy played guest roles in such television shows as The Six Million Dollar Man, Sanford and Son, and Starsky & Hutch. She found work in many commercials of the era for such companies as Foster Grant, Chrysler Corporation, and McDonald's. She also played a lead role in the 1977 film Big Time, which featured a soundtrack by the film's producer Smokey Robinson.
In 1978, Kennedy replaced Phyllis George as co-anchor for The NFL Today on CBS, and she became the first African-American woman anchor of a network TV sports show. After a contractual dispute with the network, she went on to host the short-lived Speak Up, America in 1980.
Kennedy won the 1982 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her performance as Julie Winters in the 1981 film Body and Soul co-starring then–husband Leon Isaac Kennedy.
Kennedy won an Emmy Award for her work hosting the 1982 Rose Bowl.
In 1982 she began hosting the syndicated television show Greatest Sports Legends, in which she interviewed such luminaries as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Johnny Unitas.
During the mid-1980s Kennedy appeared in TV commercials for The Coca-Cola Company’s Tab soft drink, and for Jovan Musk perfume. Kennedy joined the exercise-video craze of the mid-1980s with the release of her own video "Love Your Body," which was distributed by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. She advised in the video to "[e]stablish a positive belief in yourself. Learn what your body needs and love it for what it is."
Selected filmography
Film
1973: Group Marriage as Judy
1975: Let's Do It Again as Girl at Factory
1976: The Muthers as Serena
1977: Big Time as Shana Baynes
1978: Death Force (aka Fighting Mad) as Maria Russell
1981: Body and Soul as Julie Winters (NAACP Image Award: Best Actress)
Television
1973: Ironside as Maylene (Season 7, episode 12: "The Last Payment")
1974: Banacek as Girl Demonstrator (Season 2, episode 6: "Rocket to Oblivion")
1974: Sanford and Son as Brenda (Season 4, episode 5: "There'll Be Some Changes Made")
1975: The Six Million Dollar Man as Louise (Season 3, episode 4: "The Song and Dance Spy")
1976: The Rockford Files as Janice (Season 2, episode 21: "Foul on the First Play")
1977: The New Adventures of Wonder Woman as Carolyn Hamilton (Season 2, episode 5: "Knockout")
1977: Police Woman as Cora (Season 4, episode 4: "The Inside Connection")
1978-1980: The NFL Today – Reporter (NFL pre-game show)
1979: Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women as Chocolate (TV movie)
Book
Kennedy, Jayne (September 2, 2025). Plain Jayne: A Memoir (First hardcover ed.). Los Angeles: Andscape Books. ISBN 978-1368110952. OCLC 1453617329.