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Lynda Carter, a Real-Life Wonder Woman

Today, Wonder Woman is one of the world’s most popular comic-book characters but that hasn’t always been the case. Before the Israeli actress Gal Gadot was cast as the classic heroine, Lynda Carter played Wonder Woman and her secret alter-ego, Diana Prince, in the beloved 1970s TV show which helped turn the superhero into a cultural icon.

But although it may seem as though being Miss Universe and portraying wonder woman mean you live a glamorous, easy life, the road to success wasn’t so simple for Carter, who had to deal with hardships that shaped who she is today.

Join us to unravel Carter’s unusual life story, the dilemmas that were a part of her life and to finally answer the pressing question of why she wasn’t a part of the new Wonder Woman production.

Starting Out Young

Lynda Carter’s greatest breakthrough may have been her casting in Wonder Woman, but her career in entertainment started much earlier.

Her first television appearance actually took place way back in 1956, when she was just five years old, nearly twenty years before the debut of the Wonder Woman television show. She appeared on Lew King’s Talent Show – but not as an actress. Lynda Carter – who at the tender age of five still went by her birth name of Linda Jean Córdova Carter – was, above all, interested in singing.

Lynda Carter, the Singer

By the time she was in high school, Carter had begun to take singing very seriously. She joined a band called Just Us, where she sang, accompanied by a marimba, conga drums, an acoustic guitar and a stand-up bass – all played by her friends.

But Just Us wasn’t enough for her, and at the age of 16, she joined two of her cousins in a band called The Relatives.

A year later, she would leave home and go on tour with the band.

Going Her Own Way

At the age of 17, Lynda left home and decided to pursue her singing career with the band, full time.

“My husband once asked my mother, ‘Why on earth would you let your 17-year-old daughter go on tour with a bunch of musicians?’” Lynda Carter told the New York Times in a 2018 interview. “My mother said, ‘Excuse me, have you ever tried to talk Lynda out of something she made up her mind to do?’”

At the age of 17, Carter was fiercely independent – but she wasn’t just going her own way; she was already forming a feminist worldview, and becoming a staunch activist.

Sneaking Into Casinos

Lynda, together with The Relatives, did quite well for a band that was just starting out.

She soon went from earning a meagre salary in her uncle’s diner to making $50 a night, just for singing. But while her band was highly requested, and even landed a coveted three-month long residency at the Sahara Hotel and Casino lounge in Las Vegas, Lynda herself was not yet 18 – and was years away from the required age limit of 21.

While her band was a popular opening act, Carter couldn’t enter the Casino she was working for, at least not through the front door. To avoid illegally walking through the gambling floor, she had to be snuck in through the kitchen.

Doing Well in School

Although Carter had chosen to leave home in order to perform with The Relatives, she didn’t neglect her schoolwork. Carter was a diligent student, and even with her Las Vegas shows, managed to earn an academic scholarship at Arizona State University. She was voted “Most Talented” in her high school yearbook, and after graduating, set off for college.

But this was not going to last.

The Call of the Road

Despite doing well at school and at university, Lynda couldn’t keep her mind off the touring lifestyle, and soon, decided to leave Arizona State and return to performing – full time.

To ease her worried parents, she promised her father she would mail him every other paycheck she made, in order to save up.

During her time touring, she travelled extensively. She learned about musical theory from Jazz musicians, and performed everywhere, from Borscht-belt lounges in New York, supper clubs in the Midwest and honky-tonk joints in the South.

But while she was getting a first class, hands-on education in music and performing, something was beginning to bother her.

A Ghost from the Future

One day, while she was out somewhere in the Midwest, the young Lynda Carter saw a 30-something lounge singer walk on stage. While the singer was good, she wasn’t a star – for her, the glamour and adventure of the touring life had worn off, and it showed.

“I woke up the next day and couldn’t stop crying,” Carter told The New York Times. “I thought, ‘That’s me in 10 years.’”

The epiphany was a wake-up call for Carter, and soon after she gave her band notice, and returned home to her parents. She had a lot of thinking to do.

Turning to Modeling

After returning home and rethinking her position, Lynda decided that, while music held an undeniable appeal, she wanted to give something else a go.

At 5-foot-9, with striking blue eyes and long black hair, Lynda knew she looked good – and signed up with a modeling agency.

Within a month of modeling, she was crowned Miss Phoenix, Miss Arizona, and finally, Miss World USA.

To the outside observer, it seemed like Carter took to modeling like a fish takes to water – but while her mother was proud, Lynda didn’t feel comfortable in her new career path.

Having Doubts

Lynda Carter continued to ride her success as a model, and after taking the national beauty pageant scene by storm, she went on to represent the United States in the international beauty pageant of 1972, reaching the semifinals.

But Lynda wasn’t happy with this new trajectory.

“You have to visualize the time. Women’s lib! Burn the bra! Gloria Steinem!” Carter told The New York Times. “And I had some guy telling me I needed a chaperone and had to go cut a ribbon somewhere. It wasn’t me.”

Returning to Music

After she returned from the international Miss World competition, Lynda Carter decided to take a break from modeling, and instead, focused on her music once again. She flew to England, where she recorded several singles with EMI – and then, finally, made the big move to Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of America.

There, she continued to pursued her musical career, playing gigs and making a living by singing in advertising jingles – but in addition to music, Carter had begun to think about another possible career path: acting.

Acting Lessons

While in Los Angeles, Carter began to take acting lessons with Charles E. Conrad – one of the most well-respected and sought-after acting coaches in the industry.

Carter was no stranger to acting, but with Conrad’s tutoring, coupled with her Miss World USA crown, suddenly doors began to open for her.

She started to make appearances in small roles in several television movies, as well as in popular TV shows like Starsky and Hutch and Cos – but while she seemed to be making headway, Carter was, once again, dissatisfied with what she was doing.

Screen Shot from: “Starsky and Hutch”

“Pretty Girl” Roles

As Lynda Carter continued to land acting roles in film and television, she began to notice a pattern in the type of characters she was getting cast as. She was always playing “the pretty girl,” as she told The New York Times, and while this enabled to her qualify as a member of SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild ‐ American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) – which was important if she wanted to get bigger acting parts – she felt that what she was doing wasn’t much different from her beauty pageant days.

Then, an opportunity arose that would address Lynda Carter’s trepidations – and change her life forever.

Getting the Part

Lynda Carter had managed to make a small place for herself in the entertainment industry, but despite her small roles in popular television shows, as well as her work in radio jingles and gigs, the acting lifestyle was seriously biting into her savings.

Her funds were almost depleted, and she was seriously considering the possibility of returning home to her parents, when suddenly, she received a phone call from her manager.

The actress Joanna Cassidy, with whom Lynda was competing for the role of Wonder Woman, had lost the part to her; thanks to Lynda’s earnest performance, she was going to star as the lead character in a TV show!

Her Big Breakthrough

In 1975, just three short years after she had left her music career and decided to model, Lynda Carter landed the starring role in a new superhero television show produced by Warner Bros. and DC Comics – the same people who had produced the popular and iconic Batman television show in 1966, starring Adam West.

Little did Carter realize back then, but the role would transform not just her life, but feminist discourse and women’s rights from end to end.

Amazonian Princess

Carter would play a character known as Diana Prince.

The character of Diana hails from a reclusive island in the pacific, knowns as Paradise, and inhabited by the Amazons; beautiful women who never age, and who were all blessed with amazing strength, agility and intelligence.

When an American pilot crash-lands on their island in the middle of World War II, Diana is selected to return him to America in her invisible jet. Armed with bullet-deflecting bracelets, a golden belt that holds the source of her powers, and an unbreakable, golden Lasso of Truth, she dons an American flag-inspired outfit and heads to the United States, where she becomes known… as Wonder Woman.