Jayne Kennedy wants people to know she’s not done yet.
Forty-eight years after her debut as the first Black woman to co-host a network sports show, Kennedy is resurrecting her career behind her company, Not Done Yet. She's a new author, has an organic fragrance line and is exploring multiple film projects.
The 74-year-old is the featured recipient of the Circle of Care Honors, awarded by the local nonprofit Medicine and Music. The first-time event will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Norfolk Hilton Main.
“I’m looking very forward to using my creative mind for what’s ahead,” said Kennedy, whose memoir is titled “Plain Jayne.” The book is divided into the four quarters of her life, a nod to Kennedy’s career as co-anchor on “The NFL Today.” In 1978, that was an unprecedented opportunity for an African American woman.
“So, now we’re in overtime,” said Kennedy, still striking in her now natural silver and white hair that is well past her shoulders. “My overtime is breaking through and finding myself again.”
Kennedy’s name hasn’t been household for decades. In the ’70s and early ’80s, the first Black woman to be crowned Miss Ohio graced multiple magazine covers. One of them was Playboy, the first Black actress to do so.
Coca-Cola hired her to promote TaB. Her beauty made her a natural for Revlon commercials. But she was more than a pretty face.
When CBS was seeking a replacement for Phyllis George on “The NFL Today,” Kennedy wanted the job. Fifteen blonde women and the dark-haired Kennedy were finalists for a co-anchor role that drew more than 2,000 applicants.
It helped that she was connected to NFL great Jim Brown, a fellow Clevelander. Her initial contract was only a few weeks, but she secured the position for the season when the network was searching for a way to interview Muhammad Ali.
“I can get it,” Kennedy announced, and she did. She grew up a boxing fan, having snuck into a building once to watch one of Ali’s fights on pay-per-view. Ali knew of Kennedy from her days on “The Dean Martin Show,” when she was the first female Black cast member of the dancing Dingaling Sisters.
“There’s that Dingaling girl!” Ali said to her the first time they met, which sparked not only a conversation but a friendship.
Kennedy won an Emmy Award for hosting the Rose Bowl Parade and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture as Julie Winters in “Body and Soul.” Her exercise tape “Love Your Body,” released in 1983, was among the first to highlight a Black woman.
A leaked VHS tape that shared an intimate moment between her and her then-husband Leon Kennedy derailed her professionally. What wouldn’t make a ripple today cost her. The phone stopped ringing. No one wanted to hire a Black female linked to anything dubbed scandalous.
For the next 10 years, she hated herself, she said in her book, noting, “I didn’t want to see anyone, talk to anyone, except my family.”
Kennedy disappeared from public life and poured herself into the four daughters she shares as a blended family with her husband, Bill Overton.
“Everything I did at that point was with them,” said Kennedy, who coached her girls in soccer and became known as Mama Jayne to her children’s friends.
Her resurgence is marked by a commitment to wellness; she uses her platform to raise awareness about compassion and the importance of human connection. That’s something she missed while traveling for her sports career. She didn’t have an entourage that accompanied her.
“I was on my own,” she said.
The loneliness of the elderly also hits home as Kennedy is a caregiver to her mother, Virginia Harrison, who suffers from dementia. Kennedy values the time she spends with her mom while reinventing her own life. She’s invigorated by the book tour that has introduced her to readers inspired by her journey.
Some have shared that they remember her from her broadcast days, watching “a Black girl on television in a space where she was never meant to be.”
“It was a glorious career, but it was really hard,” Kennedy said. “I want to continue to make a difference in people’s lives. That’s the most important thing to me.”
Her trip to Virginia and Hampton Roads will not be her first. Her mother was born in Danville, and several family members graduated from Hampton University.
The Circle of Care Honors recognize individuals embodying hope, healing and harmony. Retired TV anchor Barbara Ciara will moderate the event that will also honor Carol Adams, captain of the Petersburg Police Department; the Rev. Yvonne Delk, a pioneering theologian and social justice leader; and Christopher Tan, president and CEO of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.
Visit Medicine and Music for more information
