Victoria Principal became a household name as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the hit Texas oil-soap opera Dallas. The brunette beauty starred on the show for nine seasons, sharing the screen with Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Charlene Tilton, and Erin Gray as the drama and power struggles unfolded.
After Dallas ended in 1987, Principal’s TV appearances became less frequent, though she popped up in series like Just Shoot Me! and Family Guy. In the early 1980s, she dated Bee Gees member Andy Gibb. She later starred in Titans, which followed a wealthy Hawaiian family.
Outside of acting, Principal made a name for herself in the beauty industry with her skincare line, Principal Secret, which she ran successfully before selling it in 2018. She has also authored four books on healthy living. Recently, she shared rare photos on Instagram, giving fans a glimpse of her life today, including one with one of her favorite horses.
Early life and career beginnings
Born in Fukuoka, Japan, Principal grew up in various locations, including London, Puerto Rico, Florida, Massachusetts, and Georgia, due to her father’s military career. While attending Miami–Dade Community College, she was seriously injured in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, spending months recovering. Afterward, she left college to pursue acting in New York City, moving to Los Angeles in 1971.
Her first film role was opposite Paul Newman in John Huston’s The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), followed by the 1973 comedy The Naked Ape, which she promoted with a Playboy feature. She then appeared in the disaster film Earthquake (1974) and later in I Will, I Will… for Now and Vigilante Force.
Principal briefly stepped away from acting in the mid-1970s to work as a Hollywood talent agent and study law, but returned in 1977 with roles on Fantasy Island and The Night They Took Miss Beautiful.
Dallas fame
When she read the script for Dallas, Principal immediately connected with the role of Pamela and convinced producers to cast her. The show premiered in 1978 and became an instant sensation, making her a star. She remained on the series for nine seasons, leaving in 1987 due to concerns over declining writing quality. Principal later told People and Entertainment Weekly that while the first five years were “unbelievably wonderful,” the departure of key writers by year seven influenced her decision to exit.
Post-Dallas work
After leaving the series, Principal appeared in TV films she sometimes produced through her company, Victoria Principal Productions, including Naked Lie (1989), Blind Witness (1989), and Sparks: The Price of Passion (1990). She also had guest roles on Home Improvement, Just Shoot Me!, Family Guy, Providence, and Tracey Takes On…, and starred in the French comedy Michael Kael vs. the World News Company (1998). She returned to primetime soap with Titans in 2000 but retired from acting in 2001, later joining the Dallas reunion special in 2004.
Personal life and relationships
Principal dated Andy Gibb in the early 1980s; they met on The John Davidson Show in 1981 and broke up in 1982 due to Gibb’s drug problems. She also briefly dated actor Anthony Perkins in 1972 during the filming of The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. Principal has been married twice: first to writer-producer Christopher Skinner (1978–1980) and later to Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Harry Glassman (1985–2006).
Philanthropy and advocacy
Principal has devoted much of her time to philanthropic work and animal rescue through the Victoria Principal Foundation for Thoughtful Existence, which focuses on environmental conservation. In 2012, she told HuffPost, “My deepest concern is for the planet and every living thing on it…Unless we rectify the damage we have done to our land and our oceans, then I truly believe, the planet will reclaim itself.”
