Jayne Kennedy

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. Kennedy was crowned Miss Ohio in 1970 in the Miss USA Pageant; she went on to compete in the top ten of the national pageant. [2] Kennedy won a 1982 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture award for her performance as Julie Winters in the 1981 film Body and Soul co-starring alongside her then–husband Leon Isaac Kennedy.

For other people with similar names, see Jane Kennedy (disambiguation).
Jayne Kennedy
Kennedy c. 1980
Born
Jayne Harrison

(1951-10-27) October 27, 1951
Washington, D.C., U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesJayne Kennedy Overton
EducationWickliffe High School
Occupation
  • Actress
  • model
  • sportscaster
  • television personality
  • producer
  • writer
  • philanthropist
Years active1969–1990
Title
Term1970–1971
PredecessorMarlynn Singleton
SuccessorKaren M. Haus
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1971; div. 1982)​
[1]
Bill Overton
​
(m. 1985)​
Children4
AwardsNAACP Image Award – (1982) Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Body and Soul)

Personal life

Jayne Kennedy grew up in Wickliffe, Ohio as 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". [3] In high school, she was on the cheerleading squad, was a member of the National Honor Society and was three times elected the president of her high school class. [4]

A year after high school, Harrison met Leon Isaac Kennedy, a DJ and a struggling actor/writer. They married in 1971. Motown singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson served as best man at their wedding. They later divorced in 1982. In 1985, Kennedy married actor Bill Overton. They have four children: his daughter Cheyenne (1982) and their three daughters Savannah Re (b. November 20, 1985), Kopper Joi (b. May 17, 1989) and Zaire Ollyea (b. September 15, 1995).[5]

Documentary

Jayne Kennedy-Overton is featured in Bayer Mack's 2019 documentary, No Lye: An American Beauty Story, that chronicles the rise and decline of the black-owned ethnic beauty industry.[6]

Filmography
  • Group Marriage — Judy (1973)
  • Ironside episode "The Last Payment" (TV series, 1973)
  • Banacek episode "Rocket to Oblivion" (TV series, 1974)
  • Sanford and Son season 4 episode 5 "There'll be some changes made" - Brenda (TV series, 1974)
  • The Six Million Dollar Man episode: "The Song and Dance Spy" (TV series, October 5, 1975)
  • Let's Do It Again — Girl at Factory (1975)
  • The Rockford Files episode: "Foul on the First Play" (TV series, 1976)
  • The Muthers — Serena (1976)
  • Big Time — Shana Baynes (1977)
  • Wonder Woman Episode: "Knockout" (TV series, October 14, 1977)
  • Police Woman episode: "The Inside Connection" - Cora (TV series, November 22, 1977)
  • Fighting Mad (aka Death Force) — Maria Russell (1978)
  • NFL Today - reporter (NFL pre-game show, 1978-80)
  • Mysterious Island Of Beautiful Women — Chocolate (TV movie, 1979)
  • Chips episode: "Kidnap" (TV series, 1980)
  • Circus of the Stars #5 (TV special, 1980)
  • Chips episode: "Mitchell and Woods" (TV series, 1981)
  • The Love Boat various episodes (TV series, 1981)
  • Body and Soul — Julie Winters (NAACP Image Award, Best Actress) (1981)
  • Diff'rent Strokes episode: "The Moonlighter" (TV series, 1983)
  • Benson episode: "Three on Mismatch" (TV series, 1986)
  • 227 episode: "Washington Affair" (TV series, November 1, 1986)

References
  1. Jayne and Leon: Did success break-up their 10-year marriage? (Ebony Magazine–January, 1982)
  2. "The Morning News" Wilmington, DE; 11 Oct 1978, pg. 41
  3. "The Morning News" Wilmington, DE; 11 Oct 1978, pg. 41
  4. "The Morning News" Wilmington, DE; 11 Oct 1978, pg. 41
  5. Profile, Ebony Magazine (December 1996)
  6. "EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! 'NO LYE: AN AMERICAN BEAUTY STORY' GIVES EXCELLENT HISTORY LESSON". EURweb.com. 2019-12-03. Retrieved 2019-12-13.


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