'Wonder Woman's' Second Act

July 29, 2005 — -- She was an Amazon princess: voluptuous, but tough as nails. In the '70s, when action stars were all men, Wonder Woman was both beauty and brawn. Starring in the hit series, Lynda Carter gave television audiences something they had never seen before: an icon of a strong, empowered -- and sexy -- female action hero.

Carter told "20/20's" JuJu Chang she enjoyed portraying a role model for children. "They were gonna be in a world where it was OK to be smart, OK to be beautiful, OK to be feminine, OK to be strong, OK to be athletic," she said.

The half-Irish, half-Mexican beauty began her career singing in folk bands before having a successful run on the beauty pageant circuit.

At 5-foot-10, with that perfect hourglass figure, Carter seemed to have jumped off the pages of the original comic book and was a perfect fit for the series.

The show lasted just three seasons -- from 1976 to 1979 -- but in re-runs the statuesque brunette with her invisible plane and bulletproof bracelets captured the imagination of an entire generation of boys and girls.

Cater often performed her own stunts, like dangling 40 feet in the air. She seemed indestructible. But in real life, that wasn't the case. She may have been the embodiment of a superhero on television, but in the end she had very human frailties.

She had married a talent agent who became her manager, but was deeply unhappy. Carter says it was Wonder Woman who saved her.

"I would stay late after the crew had already gone home. Because I, you know, I didn't want to have to go back to my house," she said.

She spent the '80s doing variety shows and made-for-TV movies, and traveled the country as a spokesperson for Maybelline.

During this period, she met her second husband Washington lawyer Robert Altman. "I fell for him like that -- boom," she said.

They quickly became a D.C. power couple with two beautiful kids and a mansion in the suburbs. Life was beautiful until the summer of 1992.