FOXXY FRIDAY...

Every Friday I'm going to pay homage to a person in our pop culture who may or may not be well known to the masses, so today I'm paying homage to none other than one of the foxxiest mamas in the 70s, Miss Jayne Kennedy-Overton!

Jayne Kennedy was born Jane Harrison on October 27, 1951 in Washington D.C.

She was crowned Miss Ohio USA 1970 (she was the first African American woman to win the title), and was one of the 15 semi-finalists in the 1970 Miss USA pageant. While starting her modeling career, Jayne met Leon Isaac Kennedy; They married in 1970. They moved to California to pursue careers in acting. She made her film debut in 1972's "Lady Sings The Blues". She also made a cameo appearance in "Let's Do It Again".

She continued to act on television, appearing on "Sanford & Son", "Baretta", "Starsky & Hutch", "CHiPs", and "227".


In 1978, she was one of the first women to infiltrate the male-dominated world of sports announcing with a role on The NFL Today. In the early 1980s she produced exercise videos and released an exercise album (which I still have), and at the same time, she also had a contract with both Coca-Cola's Tab and Diet Coke.

The 80s also brought about a change personally; she and Leon Isaac Kennedy were divorced in 1982. In 1985 she married actor Bill Overton. Jayne also had a battle with endometriosis, which affects the lining of the uterus and can prevent pregnancy. Despite this ailment Jayne was able to give birth to three daughters: Savannah Re, Kopper Joi, and Zaire Ollyea.

Jayne has been on the cover of Ebony and Jet magazines numerous times. In July 1981 she became the first Black actress to grace the cover of Playboy magazine. She and Leon Isaac posed together for a pictorial in the same issue, but none of the pictures showed her nude.

Today Jayne is a wife & mother. She donates her time to various charities and is a Born-again Christian. With all that being said , I begin Foxxy Friday by honoring Miss Jayne Kennedy!

Check out Miss Jayne: