At the age of 15 in 1964, Spaeth was cast to play Marian "Gil" Gilbert in
The World of Henry Orient. Between 1970 and 1978, Spaeth wrote for numerous print publications and was a reporter for several local television stations. Additionally, Spaeth was a speechwriter for
William S. Paley, founder and chairman of
CBS. In 1978 Spaeth hosted and produced a nightly television show in Columbus, Ohio, for Warner-Amex Cable. In 1979, Spaeth was a producer for
20/20, where she produced segments on
Liberace, gifted children and motorcycle gangs. In the early 1980s, Spaeth was accepted to the
White House Fellows program where she was assigned to work under FBI Director
William Webster as his special assistant, after which she worked for two years as director of public affairs for the
Federal Trade Commission. In 1983, she became White House Director of Media Relations in the administration of
Ronald Reagan, serving until 1985. After moving to Dallas with her husband, Spaeth founded Spaeth Communications in 1987. Starting in the 1990s, Spaeth currently teaches BLC (business leadership center) seminar classes at the
Cox School of Business at SMU.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth During the 2004 presidential campaign, Spaeth advised the
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that questioned the Democratic presidential candidate
John Kerry’s
Vietnam War record. Since the 2004 election, the term "Swift Boating" (or "swiftboating") has become a common expression for a campaign attacking opponents by questioning their credibility and patriotism in a dishonest manner. The term is most often used with the pejorative meaning of a smear campaign. Spaeth has referred to her involvement in this campaign as her “biggest regret.”
Work with Ken Starr Spaeth was hired as a communications consultant to
Ken Starr, an attorney who served as
Solicitor General of the United States under
George H. W. Bush and
Special prosecutor for the
Whitewater controversy during the
Clinton Administration. Starr was then serving as President of
Baylor University during the
Baylor University sexual assault scandal. As president, Starr had received email messages from a female student who claimed that she had been raped, though he later denied receiving the messages. In a television interview with
KWTX-TV, Spaeth was present and periodically stopped the interview to coach Starr on his answers about the controversy.
Work for Jeffrey Epstein In 2008, Spaeth helped
Jeffrey Epstein pen a letter of apology, as he was under investigation for sex trafficking minors. Epstein and Spaeth communicated over the span of a few weeks in relation to the apology letter. == Publications ==