Linda Diane Thompson (born 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 1 ...

''. She was also a girlfriend of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

, before marrying Olympic decathlon champion

Caitlyn Jenner Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner; October 28, 1949) is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. Jenner played college football for the Graceland Yellowjackets before incurring a knee in ...

, and then music producer

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

Early life

Thompson was born in 1950 and raised in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, the daughter of Margie (née White) and Sanford Abel Thompson. Her older brother, Sam, was one of

's bodyguards.

Career

Pageants

Thompson was Miss Shelby County (1969) In September 1970, she was named "Miss

Mid-South Fair The Mid-South Fair is a fair that was held for many years in Memphis, Tennessee, every year in late September and early October. It is now held in neighboring northwest Mississippi. It hosts many shows and attractions, as well as different type ...

" in Memphis. In 1970, Thompson was named "Miss

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

" and was third runner-up in the 1970 Miss Tennessee pageant (which is the state preliminary to the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

pageant). Thompson was Miss Tennessee Universe in 1972, which is also known as

Miss Tennessee USA The Miss Tennessee USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Tennessee in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant is directed by Greenwood Productions under the ownership of Miss Tennessee USA 1989, Kimberly Pa ...

and under the

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

and

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall St ...

umbrella: Jeanne LeMay Dumas, Thompson's best friend, recounts this first meeting with Elvis in an interview for her book, ''Elvis, Linda and Me''" and later became Elvis' personal secretary. Dumas said:

Acting

In 1977, Thompson became a regular on the television series ''

''. She later had small one-episode roles in such television series as ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

'', ''

Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...

'', ''

Vega$ ''Vegas'' (stylized as ''Vega$'') is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 20, 1978, to June 3, 1981, with the pilot episode airing April 25, 1978. ''Vegas'' was produced by Aaron Spelling and created by Mic ...

'', ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tatto ...

'', ''

The Fall Guy ''The Fall Guy'' is an American action/adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who mo ...

'' and ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...

''. Thompson starred in several television pilots, including "Mars Base One" and "Two for Two". She appeared in several films, including '' Three on a Meathook'' (1972), ''

Rabbit Test The rabbit test, or Friedman test, was an early pregnancy test developed in 1931 by Maurice Friedman and Maxwell Edward Lapham at the University of Pennsylvania. Test The hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is produced during pregna ...

'' (1978) and '' Original Intent'' (1991). She had a small role in '' The Bodyguard'' (1992). She appeared as Linda Jenner in a workout video by then-spouse Caitlyn Jenner, four documentaries about

between 1997 and 2004, and in the short-lived '' Princes of Malibu'', a reality series about then-husband David Foster's efforts to improve her two sons and herself.

Songwriting

She began her career as a lyricist with the Kenny Rogers single "Our Perfect Song" from his album ''

The Heart of the Matter ''The Heart of the Matter'' (1948) is a novel by English author Graham Greene. The book details a life-changing moral crisis for Henry Scobie. Greene, a former British intelligence officer in Freetown, British Sierra Leone, drew on his exper ...

'' (1985). Thompson collaborated with composer

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, " D ...

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

's first hit record, "

To Where You Are "To Where You Are" is a song performed by American singer Josh Groban on his 2001 self-titled debut album. It was written by Richard Marx and Linda Thompson and produced by Richard Marx. Commercial performance When released as a single in 2002, ...

", with composer

Steve Dorff Stephen Hartley Dorff (born April 21, 1949) is an American songwriter and composer whose work is mainly in the field of country music. Career Dorff has written several songs for other artists, including " Hypnotize the Moon" and " My Heart W ...

on the

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

hit "

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

", with

Andreas Carlsson Andreas Carlsson (; born 3 April 1973) is a Swedish music producer and pop songwriter. Biography Carlsson was part of the Cheiron Studios team until the studio was closed down in 2000. In January 2001, former Cheiron-members Andreas Carlsson, K ...

for "

Drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...

" by the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The ...

, and composer

on several compositions, including "No Explanation" for the film ''

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance) ...

'' (1990), and "

I Have Nothing "I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on February 20, 1993 as the third single from '' The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album'' (1992) by Arista Records. The song was written by David Foster and L ...

" for the film '' The Bodyguard'' (1992), for which they were nominated both for the

Academy Award for Best Song An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

in 1993 and the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television in 1994, and "

Grown-Up Christmas List "Grown-Up Christmas List" (sometimes titled "My Grown-Up Christmas List") is a Christmas song composed by David Foster (music) and Linda Thompson-Jenner (lyrics). It was originally recorded by Foster, with Natalie Cole on vocals, for his 1990 ...

". In 1999, Linda Thompson,

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

and

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1947) is an American lyricist, singer, and songwriter. Early life and career Bayer Sager was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She grad ...

wrote " Why Should I Care" for the film ''

True Crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

''. In 2001, she wrote "

" for the American boyband

. In 2011, Thompson, Foster and

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age. Since 2009, she has issued a platinum-selling EP and nine albums, including three ''Billboard'' 200 top 10 ...

collaborated on the title track for Evancho's album ''

Dream With Me ''Dream with Me'' is the second full-length album (first on a major label) by American singer Jackie Evancho. It was released on June 3, 2011 on digital download format, and on June 14, 2011 in the standard CD format.

Author

In 2016,

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

imprint Dey Street Books published Thompson's memoir, ''A Little Thing Called Life'', which featured on

The New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

Personal life

Life with Elvis

On July 6, 1972, Thompson attended a private movie screening hosted by

at the Memphian Theater in Memphis. Thompson was 22 at the time. She and Presley subsequently dated for four years before breaking up around Christmas 1976. They broke up because, like

Priscilla Priscilla is an English female given name adopted from Latin ''Prisca'', derived from ''priscus''. One suggestion is that it is intended to bestow long life on the bearer. The name first appears in the New Testament of Christianity variously as ...

before her, Thompson wanted a "normal" life, which was not possible with Presley's lifestyle. However, they broke up on good terms and remained good friends until Presley's death.

Marriage to Caitlyn Jenner

In 1980, Thompson began a relationship with

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medal

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word " pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or � ...

prior to Jenner's transition. The couple married on January 5, 1981, in

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. They have two sons together, Brandon and

Sam Brody Sam Brody (January 1, 1907 – September 9, 1987) was a founding member of the Workers Film and Photo League, an independent organization founded in 1931 to produce and present films documenting the Great Depression from a Marxist perspective. ...

, known as Brody. The couple separated in 1986 after Jenner

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

to Thompson as a

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...

, and they eventually divorced after going through counseling.

Marriage to David Foster

On June 22, 1991, Thompson married Canadian composer and record producer

; they divorced in 2005.

Honors and awards

Thompson won a BMI Film & TV Award in 1994 for Most Performed Song from a Film ("

"), composed by Thompson and David Foster for the soundtrack for '' The Bodyguard.'' She shared Special Recognition Awards in 1997 and 2004 with several others for work related to the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

, including lyrics for the official 1996 Olympic theme song, "

The Power of the Dream "The Power of the Dream" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released as a single in Japan on 20 August 1996. It was written and produced by David Foster, Linda Thompson, and Babyface for the opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics. ...

", sung by

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Linda Living people 1950 births Actresses from Tennessee American film actresses American television actresses Emmy Award winners Jenner family Miss Tennessee USA winners Miss USA 1970s delegates Songwriters from Tennessee University of Memphis alumni Writers from Memphis, Tennessee 20th-century American people