Linda Thompson

Linda Thompson is a singer-songwriter and actress. Thompson competed in a number of beauty pageants as a teenager and was named “Miss Tennessee” in 1972. That same year, she made her film debut as Debbie in the slasher Three on a Meathook, which helped to establish her as a mainstream talent.

Thompson joined the cast of the TV show Hee Haw in 1977 and made appearances on shows such as CHiPs and Fantasy Island. She continued to take on small film roles, even appearing in the 1992 Oscar-nominated drama The Bodyguard.

Towards the end of her acting career, Thompson pivoted to songwriting. She first collaborated with David Briggs on the Kenny Rogers hit “Our Perfect Song” before writing hits for artists such as Celine Dion and Backstreet Boys. Thompson boasts writing credits on Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” a track composed for The Bodyguard. The song earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song and a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture. The songwriter received an Emmy nomination in 2003 for her original song “Aren’t They All Our Children.”

Thompson is also an author and released her memoir A Little Thing Called Life in 2016.

After being named Miss Tennessee in 1972, Thompson had a chance meeting with Elvis Presley. The pair dated from 1972 to 1976, and they remained friends until Presley’s death in 1977.

She wed Olympian Caitlyn Jenner in 1981, and their song Brandon Jenner was born the same year. The couple welcomed son Brody Jenner in 1983 and split three years later.

Thompson tied the knot with composer David Foster in 1991, and the two divorced in 2005.