Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman in a Photoshoot for TV Series ‘Wonder Woman’ From the 1970s

Wonder Woman, the fictional superhero character, was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston and artist Harry G. Peter in 1941 for DC Comics. Conceived in the wake of the popularity of Superman, Marston designed his creation as counter-programming to the Man of Steel. The Diana Prince/Wonder Woman character is also called the Amazing Amazon, the Spirit of Truth, Themyscira’s Champion, and the Goddess of Love and War. Wonder Woman was an instant hit with readers and became the most prominent DC comic book female superhero.

Lynda Carter’s acting career took off when she landed the starring role on Wonder Woman in 1975, as the title character and her secret identity, Diana Prince. The savings she had set aside from her days of touring on the road with her band to pursue acting in Los Angeles were almost exhausted. Carter has publicly stated that, on the day she got the part, she had $25 in the bank. She was close to returning to Arizona when her manager informed her that Joanna Cassidy had lost the role and Carter had the part of Wonder Woman. Carter's earnest performance greatly endeared her to both fans and critics and as a result, she continues to be closely identified with Wonder Woman.

The Wonder Woman series lasted for three seasons, which aired on ABC and later on CBS from 1975 to 1979. Carter’s performance, rooted in the character’s inherent goodness combined with a comic-accurate costume and a catchy theme song made for a depiction that was nothing less than iconic. After the show ended, Carter told Us that “I never meant to be a sexual object for anyone but my husband. I never thought a picture of my body would be tacked up in men’s bathrooms. I hate men looking at me and thinking what they think. And I know what they think. They write and tell me.”

In 1985, DC Comics named Carter as one of the honorees in the company’s 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for her work on the Wonder Woman series.

Carter holds dear the new film and the character introduced more than 75 years ago. “Many actresses or actors, they want to divorce themselves from a role because we are actors, we really aren’t the people that we play. But I knew very early on that this character is much more than me certainly, and to try to divorce myself from the experiences that other people have of the character is silly,” she said.