Ladd was born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor in Huron, South Dakota, the second daughter of Dolores (née Katz), a waitress and Marion Stoppelmoor (1929–2001), a railroad engineer. She married fellow actor David Ladd, with whom she had a daughter, Jordan. She took his surname as her own, which she kept after their divorce.\n', '
Ladd came to Hollywood in 1970 to begin a career in music (she was known as "Cherie Moor" when she was the singing voice of Melody on Hanna-Barbera\'s Josie and the Pussycats animated series, and she also sang on the 1970 album of the same name). She soon began to land non-singing roles in commercials and episodic television, including guest appearances on shows such as on The Rookies, The Partridge Family, Police Woman, The Muppet Show and Happy Days.\n', '
Her big acting break came in 1977, when she was cast in the ABC television series, Charlie\'s Angels, replacing star Farrah Fawcett, who left the show after only one season to pursue a movie career. To make the transition easier for audiences, producers cast Ladd as Fawcett\'s character\'s younger sister, Kris, instantly making her a part of the "Angel\'s family". In the years to come, this practice of replacing Angels became a common event for the show, but Ladd remained a part of the main cast until the show\'s end in the spring of 1981. While starring in the highly rated Charlie\'s Angels, Ladd took advantage of her new-found popularity to further her musical career, guest-starring in musical-comedy variety series and specials, performing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl XIV in January 1980, and releasing three albums. She had a top-40 Billboard Hot 100 single and a gold record.\n', '