For those of you who grew up during the 70s and 80s, you may remember the stunningly beautiful and talented Jayne Kennedy as a sportscaster on the NFL Today. Not only did that lady know her sports, she looked damn good interviewing the athletes. I watched a TV-One special on her a few week ago, and I didn’t realize Jayne was a pioneer in so many fields. Check out some of her accomplishments: In 1970, she made local history when she became the first African American woman to be crowned Miss Ohio. 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 (this was when the dominant teams were the Steelers, The 49ers, and the Raiders). She was able to get an interview with Muhammad Ali when no one else could. In 1981, she became the first African American actress to make the front cover of Playboy Magazine. Copies of the magazine immediately sold out as soon as the issue hit the stands (incidentally, she was fully clothed in the magazine). In the 80s, she was the first black woman to have a workout video. While the Real Housewives are fighting over the rights to Donkey Butt, Jayne had already been there and done that thirty years ago! Jayne was a trailblazer, paving the path for other women to enter the sports broadcasting arena. Since the 1990s, she’s been spending time with her family, which includes her husband, Bill Overton and four (yes four!) daughters. Jayne grew up loving sports, and even now, she coaches her daughter’s soccer team. She’s also been working with the Children’s Miracle Network, raising millions of dollars for hospitals. So, the next time someone asks you, “Hey, whatever happened to Jayne Kennedy?” You can tell them nothing happened to her–she happened to everyone else!
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