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Jayne Kennedy | Biography.
For millions of American women who came of age in the 1960s and 70s, Jayne Kennedy was more than the “IT Girl”. She was a cherished role model for all women and African-American women in particular... Jayne Kennedy was an inspiration and icon
Beginning with her Hollywood debut in 1971 as a dancer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, a singer/dancer with Bob Hope's Bases Around the World Christmas Tour entertaining troops during the Vietnam War, The Dean Martin Show in 1972-75. Hosting major TV specials; guest starring on prime-time TV, starring in pilots and films; serving as national spokesperson for major companies including her six years with Coca-Cola. And as a producer; creating, writing, and hosting her pioneering Love Your Body fitness video series that ranked #3 in sales along with Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons; producing and starring in films for which she won the NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in Body & Soul.
However, Jayne is best known for her ground-breaking tenure on the Emmy Award winning CBS’ The NFL Today from 1978-1980. As one of the first female sports broadcasters and the very first African-American female in that role, she destroyed the myth that women could not make it in the world of sports broadcasting. Bob Costas stated, “The NFL Today set the standard for modern sports pregame shows” and the combination of Brent Musburger, Jayne Kennedy, Irv Cross and Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder is often referred to as the best pregame show on television - ever!
The Super Bowl LVIII pregame special, You Are Looking Live! chronicled the history of The NFL Today featuring Brent and Jayne, won the prestigious Emmy Award. Jayne was also featured in the best-selling book, In a League of Her Own – Celebrating Female Firsts in Sports, dedicating a chapter to each of the sixteen female pioneers including Billie Jean King.
Although Jayne has always been humbled by her success, her pre-eminence in contemporary American media was solidified when in 2018 she was inducted into the prestigious Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington D.C., alongside such other pioneering notable legends as Nat King Cole, Diahann Carroll, Nichelle Nichols, Diana Ross & The Supremes and Don Cornelius in the Pioneers in Television and the Media Landscape exhibit, presented in the Oprah Winfrey Wing of the institution.
Breaking new ground is nothing out of the ordinary for Jayne. There seemed to always be a hurdle on the track as she raced through a meteoric career that brought her praise and acclaim across many genres and platforms - which now also include ‘author’, with her long-awaited memoir Plain Jayne set to be released September 2, 2025 on Disney’s imprint Andscape.
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