Her first boyfriend, a Valley hunk with a weakness for beauty-pageant contestants, dumped her for Miss Northridge. "I sulked for two months," says Jenilee Harrison. "Then I decided he was going to regret it." Today, somewhere, he does. Jenilee, determined to outshine Miss Northridge, became a beauty queen herself, winning titles that ranged from Miss San Fernando Valley to Miss Young America. Beauty-pageant laurels led to TV commercials and a stint with the Embraceable Ewes (now more prosaically known as the L.A. Rams cheerleaders). Next came several seasons as "clumsy Cindy" on the hit sitcom Three's Company--Jenilee replaced Suzanne Somers after Somers' bitter contract dispute with the show's producers. Next came a role as a hooker with a golden heart in the James Garner vehicle Tank. Next came South Fork. Jenilee's performance on Dallas as the smart, tough oil girl Jamie Ewing Barnes made her something of a star. Now comes Jenilee Harrison, 27, formerly Miss Young America, formerly the most embraceable Ewe of all, formerly clumsy Cindy and tough Jamie. Currently successful, sensational, happy--and all on her own terms. When Jenilee sets her mind to something, something definitely happens.
Just how sexy is Jenilee? "Very, very! Cindy on Three's Company was sweet and funny," she says, reflecting on her wholesome image. "Jamie Ewing was kind of a tomboy. I hope people thought Jamie was pretty, but she wasn't particularly feminine. Jenilee Harrison is an extremely sexual person. I feel sexy eating lunch! Sex is a crucial part of life and a crucial part of me, too."
Her work address is Hollywood, but she lives in quiet Long Beach. "I don't do the Hollywood scene," she says. "Jenilee at home is sweats and no make-up--not too glamorous. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm no hermit. I hit the beach in my string bikini. I like to flaunt it as much as anyone. That's why I did Playboy. I'm proud of it. I don't think you can get much sexier than Playboy."
She's beautiful. She's sensuous. She's perhaps the most famous baby sitter on the West Coast. And she's her own boss. "I call my own shots," Jenilee says. "I work hard, and I'm not intimidated by anyone. I think I've done damn well, but I still have a dream. It's not to win an Academy Award but just, someday, to have everyone say, 'That Jenilee Harrison, she's a hell of an actress.' "
