For television fans who grew up in the 1970s, Lindsay Wagner remains inseparable from Jaime Sommers, the super-powered heroine who became one of the decade’s most memorable characters. With her effortless charm, athletic presence, and distinctive bionic abilities, Wagner quickly became the kind of television star young viewers wanted to imitate.
According to Remind, yet her rise to fame almost never happened. Before “The Bionic Woman” transformed her career, Universal Studios reportedly decided Wagner did not have what it wanted in a leading lady and let her contract expire. In an ironic twist worthy of a Hollywood script, the same studio soon found itself paying considerably more to bring her back after audiences fell in love with Jaime Sommers.
Lindsay Wagner Went From Fired Actress to Breakout TV Favorite
Wagner joined Universal as a contract player in 1971 when she was 22 years old, reportedly earning about $162 per week. She landed major roles in films including “Two People” and “The Paper Chase,” but the studio remained unconvinced about her star potential. According to a later account in TV Guide Magazine, executives viewed her as too tall, too thin, and not glamorous enough, and her time as a contract player eventually came to an end.
Then came Jaime Sommers. Universal cast Wagner opposite Lee Majors on The Six Million Dollar Man, where Jaime suffered severe injuries, received bionic implants, and was initially killed off. Viewer backlash was so strong that producers brought her back. Wagner’s new agent reportedly rejected a $2,500 offer and countered with $25,000, which Universal accepted.
‘The Bionic Woman’ Turned a Supporting Character Into a 1970s Icon
Bringing Jaime back proved worthwhile. Her return helped “The Six Million Dollar Man” climb into the Top 10, showing the studio just how much audiences connected with the character. Executives soon offered Wagner her own series, “The Bionic Woman,” along with a reported $17,500 per episode and a share of merchandising profits. In a remarkably short time, an actress the studio had once dismissed became the face of a major television franchise.
The story also explains why Lindsay Wagner’s breakthrough remains such a satisfying piece of television history. Jaime Sommers began as a guest character, died on screen, returned because viewers demanded it, and ultimately became a pop-culture phenomenon in her own right. Wagner went from losing a studio contract to starring in a series that made her one of the defining television heroines of the 1970s. Decades later, the journey remains a reminder that Hollywood executives do not always recognize star power the first time they see it.