Jayne Kennedy (born Jane Harrison on October 27, 1951 in Washington,
D.C.) is an American actress, model and sportscaster.
Jayne was crowned Miss Ohio USA 1970 (she was the first African
American woman to win the title), and was one of the 10 semi-finalists
in the 1970 Miss USA pageant. It was rare for an African American woman
at that time to be in the contest. While starting her modeling career,
she met
Leon Isaac Kennedy, who was a DJ and a struggling actor/writer. They fell
in love and married in 1970. Motown's
Smokey Robinson served as best man at the
wedding. They moved to California to pursue careers in acting. During
the 1970s, she had over 10 notable TV guest appearances, and roles in
seven movies. 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; however, she was
later diagnosed with Endometriosis. She and Kennedy were divorced in
1982; she married actor
Bill Overton in 1985. In spite of the prior problem
with endometriosis, they have three daughters, Savannah Re (b. Nov. 20,
1985), Kopper Joi (b. May 17, 1989) and Zaire Ollyea (b. Sept. 15,
1995).
Love Your Body(1983)
Something About Mother(2025)as Mother
Night Trap(1993)as Face in the Fire
Throb(1986)as Mary Rodgers
227(1985)as Betty Mumphry
Benson(1979)as Elizabeth Burnett
Fighting Mad(1978)
Machete Maidens Unleashed!(2010)
Sherri(2022)as Self
Tamron Hall(2019)as Self
Good Morning America(1975)as Self - Guest
Golden Hearted(2024)as Self
Secrets of Celebrity Sex Tapes(2025)as Self
No Lye: An American Beauty Story(2019)as Self
A Football Life(2011)as Herseld
Richard G. Hatcher: Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer & Politician(2017)as Self
