At 81, Stefanie Powers Amazes With Different Look & Continues Her Late Partner’s Legacy

Aug 21, 2023

Stefanie Powers worked in the entertainment industry as early as her teenage years. Before she entered the world of film, she was a dancer for the Michele Paniaeff Ballet Company. By the age of 16 years old, she struck a deal with Columbia Pictures, which made her career skyrocket. She was with the media giant for years, and she was able to star in over 15 motion pictures. She appeared in several other films and TV shows as well.

Her real name is Stefania Zofya Paul, but since there were movie-industry customs at the time, she opted to go with the screen name Stefanie Powers for it to sound Anglo-Saxon.

Some of her most popular movie and TV credits were the “Hart to Hart” franchise, “The New Interns,” “Paper Man,” “Family Secrets,” “Escape to Athena,” “Five Desperate Women,” “The Magnificent Seven Ride!” and many more.

Regarding her love interests, she got married to actor Gary Lockwood in 1966. However, their relationship didn’t last as they separated six years later.

Shortly after her first marriage, actor William Holden became her partner. Ever since they became romantically involved with one another, both of them got involved in wildlife conservation.

Holden passed away in 1981, but his legacy in protecting the environment and wildlife continued through a non-profit organization called the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, in which Powers is a president. 

In addition, she is also the director of the Mount Kenya Game Ranch and Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya. Her love for nature didn’t stop there, as she worked closely with the Atlanta Zoo and the Cincinnati Zoo.

Stefanie Powers was born on Nov. 2, 1942, in Los Angeles, California. Early in her life, she saw changing relationships. Powers’ parents divorced during her childhood, and Powers found herself estranged from her father. However, she remained close to her mother throughout her life up until her passing. Powers also had an older brother and a half-sister, although both have since passed.

Before Powers became the actress that everyone knows her as today, she found herself enjoying school like most adolescents. She was a cheerleader at Hollywood High School. At one point, one of Powers’ classmates included Nancy Sinatra.

As she entered her 20s, Powers found herself immersing herself in the world of entertainment. The eager actress appeared in minor and secondary roles in a few movies in the early 1960s, including “Experiment in Terror” in 1962, “If a Man Answers” also in 1962 and “McLintock!” in 1963. She also appeared opposite Tallulah Bankhead in “Die! Die! My Darling” in 1965.

Powers was a knockout amongst fans and casting directors as she was later cast in the role of April Dancer in the short-lived TV series “The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.,” which was a spin-off of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” The series, unfortunately, only lasted for one season with a total of 29 episodes that ran from September 1966 to April 1967.

In the 1970s, Powers continued her stride in her career and landed a handful of films, including “The Boatniks,” “Herbie Rides Again” and “The Magnificent Seven Ride!” 

Also during the 1970s, Powers went on to appear as a guest star in “It Takes a Thief” with Robert Wagner before going on to star alongside him almost a decade later in the popular series “Hart to Hart.”

The latter series became a hit with Powers in one of the leading roles as Jennifer Hart and Wagner portraying Jonathan Hart. The two played the married duo on screen, who occasionally got mixed up in mysterious or criminal occurrences. “Hart to Hart” ran for five seasons from 1979 to 1984. During the 1990s, Powers and Wagner joined forces again to appear in the spin-off films. 

Although the show was a fan-favorite and ran for quite some time and was screened in 68 countries — even including Vatican City — Powers admitted that the salary was “pretty modest.” Still, its legacy was undeniable.

In an interview with Express, she explained how she landed the iconic role. “Lindsay Wagner (TV’s Bionic Woman) had originally been lined up as the co-star because the network liked the idea of billing it as Wagner and Wagner,” Powers explained. “But I’d guest starred with RJ, as his friends call him, in his earlier series It Takes a Thief and he fought for me to get that part.”

The actress added, “We did 26 episodes a year of Hart to Hart for the next five years, working 14-hour days. RJ and I spent more time with each other than we did with our families. People always thought we were married to each other in real life.”

Funny enough, Powers used to joke about one day being married to Wagner back when she was still in school. “Ironically, when I was a kid I’d been in a dance class with Natalie Wood and Jill St John and all three of us went on to marry Robert Wagner; those two in real life and me on TV,” she said. “Hollywood back then was full of close connections. Years before producing Hart to Hart, Aaron Spelling had coached a ladies’ baseball team I played for.”

It’s safe to say that the 1970s were a great time for Powers career-wise as she truly found her footing in the entertainment industry. She continued to star in several popular TV shows, including the likes of “Lancer,” “McCloud,” “The Mod Squad,” The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman.”

During the 1990s, Powers immersed herself in the world of theater. She starred in “Matador” in 1991 in London, England. A couple of years later, she was in the stage production of “Love Letters” in Chicago alongside her former co-star Wagner. She also portrayed Anna Leonowens in a revival of “The King and I” in the United Kingdom in 2002 before reviving the role in 2004 and 2005 in the United States.

The turn of the millennium also saw Powers in different types of roles and shows. Over a decade later, in 2011, she appeared in “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” She later appeared in the musical “Gotta Dance” from December 2015 through January 2016. In 2018, Powers co-starred in the feature film “The Artist’s Wife” alongside notable stars Bruce Dern and Lena Olin.

While it’s clear that Powers has seen plenty of great moments throughout her life and her accomplished career, the star has also, unfortunately, been through some hardships and personal challenges along the way. According to Express, the “Hart to Hart” smoked for many years and discovered that she had lung cancer. In 2008, she had a portion of her lung removed. The surgery took place just two weeks after Powers’ mother had passed away.

The actress partially wrote about her experience overcoming cancer in her 2011 autobiography “One from the Hart.” The book also highlighted Powers’ life from her time as a cheerleader at Hollywood High School to becoming a true Hollywood star and, of course, later, becoming an activist.

Not only that, but the book was revolutionary for its details about Powers’ romantic relationship with William Holden. Goodreads described the retelling: “Stefanie reveals for the first time the extraordinary nine-year relationship they a love story that ended with his tragic death at the cruel hands of depression and alcoholism.”

In an interview with Closer Weekly in 2021, Powers spoke about her relationship with Holden prior to his passing. “Despite the differences in our ages, we shared many of the same curiosities about life,” Powers said. “We were soulmates. In six of the nine years that we were together, he was sober. It was a very meaningful time for both of us.”

The actress talked about how meaningful it was to trek the outdoors and see animals, as they had a deep love and respect for wildlife. 

“We loved it. Being outdoors, sleeping under the sky, tracking animals. It was a sort of real-life adventure,” Powers said. Over the years, Powers has taken the time to show how much environmental conservation and environmental education mean to her and the foundation she helped create in Holden's honor.

It’s not surprising to see that one year after Holden’s death, Powers founded the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, as the pair shared a deep-hearted love for wildlife. The non-profit organization is located near Kenya but is based in the United States. However, its education center has an office in California. While Powers serves as the organization’s president, Don and Iris Hunt helped create the foundation as a fulfillment of Holden’s dreams.

Powers has been in the spotlight for a good portion of her life. However, her personal matters haven’t always been public knowledge. Aside from the two men mentioned earlier — Gary Lockwood and William Holden — Powers also got married to Patrick de La Chesnais from 1993 to 1999. Then, she had a relationship with Tom Carroll from 2000 until his death in 2014.

Still, it was clear from the words she wrote in her book and the way she spoke about Holden in interviews that the late star meant a great deal to Powers during their cherished time together.

Even though she was romantically linked to a few men, Powers has no children of her own, but according to Holden’s IMBd page, she would have a child with him if he didn’t get a vasectomy. Unfortunately, the medical procedure for the actor failed, and the damage was irreversible.

Holden had an unfortunate death, as authorities revealed in a 1981 article by The New York Times that his “death was caused by an accidental fall involving tripping over or slipping on a throw rug, then falling into the sharp edge of a bedside table.''

The accident reportedly caused a cut on his forehead, which resulted in a “massive bleeding.”

In April 2023, Powers, who was 80 years old at the time, shocked her loyal fans with a completely new look. Throughout her career, she had been known to rock her signature red hair, but she would often style it with curls; however, she ditched her traditional hairstyle with a new and refreshing short bob with bangs look. 

In a photo shared on her official Instagram account, Powers, who was not seen publicly in a long time before her appearance, said she attended the Gloria Awards in Germany. Powers captioned the post:

“I had a wonderful time in Germany attending the Gloria Awards and was so warmly welcomed by the hosts and participants all of whom were such great supporters of Hart to Hart. Thank you all so very much. #HartToHart #jenniferhart #GloriaAwards #StefaniePowers #awards #germany.”

As seen in a photo shared by Daily Mail UK, Powers could be seen wearing an all-black outfit, which consisted of a black blazer-like top, a skirt, and a pair of black heels. She accessorized her look with silver chains, a black choker, and a bedazzled purse. Fans were amazed at how stunning the star looked as she donned the transformed hairstyle along with a stunning outfit.

Fans continued to praise and adore her regarding her timeless look as there were hundreds of users who took to the comment section to compliment her.

“You look absolutely stunning, that dress was beautiful and those heels😍 you were so graceful and elegant,” one wrote.

“Looking AMAZING, Stefanie! 😍 Beautiful photo! Thank you for sharing with us. Tchuss!” another one wrote.

Although Powers had been gone from the entertainment industry, as her last credited project was the movie “The Artist’s Wife” in 2019, she would constantly update her fans about her projects on her Instagram account.

It appears that she still continued Holden’s legacy in conserving the environment as she shared a trivia about bamboo in May 2022.

In the post, Powers could be seen wearing a yellow sweater and a pair of pants while she stood and posed next to a bamboo tree in Kenya.

“Bamboo is fast growing multi useful and oxygen producing also a perfect plant for soil recovery. Here I am at a local farm in Kenya practicing natural agriculture,” she wrote.

She also shared her love for animals in a July 2019 post wherein she posed along with alpacas. Powers also had pictures of a giraffe and rhino on her page.

In November 2021, she paid tribute to her late former partner in a heartwarming post. She shared a photo of them together back when the actor was still alive.

“William Holden ... gone but not forgotten ... his legacy lives in his films and in the William Holden Wildlife Foundation in Kenya where thousands of children and adults embrace the ideals of conservation and preservation through education in his name,” she wrote in the caption.

What do you think of Stefanie Powers’ look? Are you happy to see her carry on her late partner's legacy? Let us know your thoughts, and make sure to pass this on to your friends and family.