In 1976, the series used mechanical legs to give other action shows a run for their money. It was a spinoff of The Six Million Dollar man and the first action series to feature a female superhero as the protagonist.

But few would have foreseen such a role for Wagner growing up in Los Angeles in the 1950s. A sickly child, she had adrenal issues, stomach problems and was very shy.

A family friend pulled her into acting to bring her out of her shell. "It was James Best who will forever be known as Roscoe P. Coltrane from Dukes of Hazzard, I consider him one of my angels in my life. I babysat for James and his wife at that time, Jobee, and they kind of knew a little bit about our family and kind of the tumultuousness that was going on at times . . . They saw a kid they cared about and took it upon themselves to offer me a place they felt they could help me open up."

She began her career as a model but after a time she felt like an object, not a person.

When she turned 22, she was ready to start acting. She landed a role on Marcus Welby MD and signed a seven-year contract at Universal Studios.

It wasn't an easy ride because she had a secret. Wagner is dyslexic. She had a hard time with cold readings so she would get the scripts in advance. "I would memorize it and then I would sit there with the paper and pretend like I was reading it."

Wagner was on the verge of completing her contract at Universal when she was asked to play the Bionic Woman on The Six Million Dollar Man. It was never supposed to be its own series, but her character was so popular fans wrote in protest when she was killed off.

In 1978 The Bionic Woman was cancelled, allowing Lindsay to focus on her family.

So whatever happened to Lindsay Wagner? "As time went on, it was becoming more and more difficult to do the types of movies I liked doing." She didn't like the trappings of fame, so she backed off.

Today, Wagner has little desire to return to Hollywood. She works with The Peacemakers Community to combat domestic violence and teaches people to relax using meditation.

"My biggest lessons came through being a mother and having that desire to be that way for my children.

"It gave me the impetus at times when perhaps I couldn't do that for myself."

Kirstie McLellan is executive producer of TV's Whatever Happened To.

© The Calgary Herald 2008