Ladd: Empowering Angel

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/08/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Amid this week's premieres on both coasts of the new movie version of "Charlie's Angels," Cheryl Ladd was the only former TV Angel to attend the unveiling of the flick, having been spotted on the red carpet at New York's Ziegfeld Theater. As the actress, 49, told PEOPLE, "I don't know what the appeal is. I just know the appeal has lasted, that we are loved in a way that television stars are not connected with. I think it's been particularly with young women . . . In the end, they found (the show) very empowering, because we all were (there) for each other and doing good things and solving crimes and beating the bad guys up." As for the new breed of Angel, Drew Barrymore, who heads the 2000 cast, told PEOPLE that making the movie was a life-altering experience. "We scuba-dive, sky dive, swam with sharks, drive fast cars, drive fast boats and learn Kung-Fu." "And bypass food," added co-star Lucy Liu, who noted that the Angels' workout was a grueling eight hours per day, five days a week.