Jayne Kennedy Overton is a model, actress, and corporate spokeswoman. Kennedy was born Jayne Harrison on October 27, 1951, to Herbert and Virginia Harrison in Wickliffe, Ohio. She attended Wickliffe High School in Wickliffe, Ohio, and graduated in 1969.
In 1970, Kennedy was crowned the 1970 Miss Ohio USA. Kennedy later competed in the Miss USA national contest that same year, where she finished in the Top 10. A year later, Kennedy appeared as a dancer in Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, and performed on Bob Hope’s Bases Around the World Christmas Tour, which also led to three years with The Dean Martin Show as a singer and dancer. Kennedy played guest roles on television shows throughout the 1970s, including The Six Million Dollar Man, Sanford and Son, and Starsky & Hutch. She also worked in many commercials for companies such as Foster Grant, Chrysler Corporation, and McDonald’s. In 1977, Kennedy played a lead role in the film Big Time. A year later, she became the anchor of NFL Today on CBS, remaining there until a contractual dispute caused her to leave the show. She went on to host Speak Up America in 1980.
In 1981, Kennedy co-starred with her then-husband, Isaac Kennedy, playing the role of Julie Winters in a film called Body and Soul. Kennedy received the 1982 NAACP Image for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for that role. Kennedy also won an Emmy Award for hosting the 1982 Rose Bowl between the Washington Huskies and the Iowa Hawkeyes. She later began hosting Greatest Sports Legends where she interviewed celebrity athletes including Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Johnny Unitas among others.
Later in the 1980s Kennedy appeared in TV commercials for The Coca-Cola Company and Jovan Musk perfume. In 1990, Kennedy and Bill Overton produced The Journey of the African American, with performances in Atlanta and a 30-week run in Los Angeles.
Kennedy also supported numerous charitable causes during her career. She co-hosted The Lou Rawls Parade of Stars in 1986, which raised $10 million for The United Negro College Fund. Kennedy was also a keynote speaker at the Evanston Martin Luther King celebration 1987. In 1988, she became the national spokesperson for The National Council for Negro Women. In 1990, she was a speaker at the 12th Annual Freedom Fund Dinner in Columbia, South Carolina. Kennedy married Leon Issac Kennedy in 1971. The couple divorced in 1982. In 1985 she married Bill Overton. Kennedy and Overton had three daughters, Kopper Joi Overton, Savannah Re Overton, and Zaire Ollyea Overton.