Of all the Charlie's Angels, the character of Tiffany Welles was probably the most unique and controversial. Playing the role proved quite a challenge for Shelley Hack, but how did she get the part in the first place? And why was she known as a "Charlie girl" even before she was picked to star in the series...?

Angel: Tiffany Welles It's fitting that Tiffany Welles was brought in to fill the vacancy left by the departure of the feisty Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson). Sabrina had always been a classy, restrained personality compared to the more "girly" and bubbly Angels, and Tiffany was definitely a woman after Sabrina's heart. Indeed, Tiffany was even more refined than her predecessor, carrying herself elegantly and with aristocratic sophistication at all times. After all, Tiffany came from a very well-to-do family - her mother was a Latin teacher and her father a police chief who was an old friend of Charlie's. And, while she jumped at the chance when Charlie offered her a place in his team, she eventually felt the pull of her native East Coast, and returned to the glamorous world she was brought up in.

Shelley Hack Profile

Shelley Hack was born July 6, 1952 in White Plains, New York but grew up in affluent Greenwich, Connecticut. Her father was a Wall Street financial analyst while her mother was a former model and flight stewardess. She’s the eldest of 6 children. Her stunning beauty was apparent almost from the outset. She started modeling before she was out of her teens, but she was also a bright young thing who was careful not to neglect her studies. She graduated from Greenwich Academy and went on to Smith College. In her junior year, she went to the University of Sydney in Australia to study archeology (to fulfill part of her college curriculum). She then returned to Smith graduating with a degree in history. However, despite her academic interests, Shelley knew that acting was what she really wanted to do.

Shelley was a part-time teen model (while a student) in the 60’s and rose to top model in the 70’s when she decided to model full-time. She did magazine covers, magazine editorials, product advertisements, catalog work, brochure covers, everything. Her face was everywhere. She was one of the most successful girls at Ford Models Inc., the agency that represented her. Her look was distinct because she didn’t project overt sexiness but rather a clean, fresh, smart and open aura – all-American wholesome-ness. She reached supermodel status after she began endorsing Revlon Charlie perfume in 1976. (She was one of the first models to sign an exclusive and lucrative cosmetics contract with a giant cosmetics company --- the others are Lauren Hutton, Karen Graham, Cheryl Tiegs, Christina Ferrare, Margaux Hemingway & Iman).

From an Angel to Media Guru The end of her tenure on Charlie's Angels certainly didn't harm Shelley's acting career. She survived on screen a lot longer than many people would have predicted back in 1980. Shelley moved to two other dissimilar series,  "Cutter to Houston" (1983) with Alec Baldwin and the very underrated "Jack & Mike" (1986-87). Neither series lasted a full season, but both did give Shelley the means to keep her acting alive and develop her craft. Since Charlie's Angels, Shelley has done a lot of acting on stage, in theatrical films and on television appearances and she also delivered an excellent performance in Martin Scorcese's controversial theatrical film "King of Comedy" (1982). In March of 1996 Shelley's movie Frequent Flyer (ABC) won its time slot and beat out the 1996 People Choice Awards. Shelley also had a cameo role in the 1996 movie House Arrest.

She also made appearances in TV shows like "SeaQuest", "LA Law" and "Diagnosis Murder". In a rather abrupt shift, Shelley gave up acting in 1997 to become a producer and all-round media guru.

In the 90’s, she also began to take an active role in politics and political fund raising. She ran for a county committee seat in Los Angeles but lost. She became active in the National Women's Political Caucus and was part of The Westside Women’s Health Center Advisory Council. Shelley Hack also became a registration and polling station supervisor in the 1997 elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina and produced the first-ever televised presidential debates in Bosnia-Herzegovina. She also produced the debates in Sarajevo, Mostar and the two in Banja Luka. She worked to “restructure the media sector in Bosnia”.

In 2000, Shelley become founder and president of Shelley Hack Media Consultancy (SHMC), a company which internationally specializes in projects that focus on the intersection between media and the development of civil society. Shelley had worked extensively in the Balkans and Western Asia. SHMC had embarked on various projects including: the transition of the Bosnian State television to a public broadcaster, the development of ethnic balance within the Bosnian television sector, the production of television debates and public presentation training for politicians, and the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation through print and television. In 2006, the company became involved in strategic planning for the tender of a Balkan bank with a wide ranging portfolio of assets.