Dallas Lady

Background:

"Maybe my greatest fear in life is not to be challenged, is to grow weary of life, and not to be passionate about it." Victoria Principal.

TV leading lady Victoria Principal was widely remembered as Pamela Barnes Ewing (1978-1987), the stylish, reconciled wife of oilman Bobby Ewing (played by Patrick Duffy), on CBS' long-running prime-time soap opera "Dallas." After leaving the show, she created her own production company, Victoria Principal Productions, and later also found success marketing her own beauty products and exercise videos/books.

The 5' 6" tall brunette who sports 37C-22-35 (self-described 1987) measurements was Miss Miami of 1969 and once posed nude for Playboy in early 1970s. One of FHM's 100 Sexiest Women (1995), Principal was romantically linked to such high profile men as Frank Sinatra, Desi Arnaz, Jr. and most famously, Andy Gibb. She recently filed for divorce from her second husband, Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Harry Glassman.


Japan Born

Childhood and Family:

Born in Fukuoka, Japan on January 3, 1946, Victoria Ree Principale, the daughter of an Italian-American Air Force sergeant Victor Principale and his wife Bertha Ree Veal, moved constantly due to her father’s profession. Alongside her younger sister, she grew up in such places like London, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts and Georgia, and attended 17 different schools. While in England, Victoria spent two years studying at the Royal Academy of Ballet. At that time, she was only the second American ever accepted into the prestigious program.

When Victoria was in her mid-teens her family eventually settled in south Florida, where she went to South Dade Senior High school. During high school, she began modeling, but after studying with Al Sachs from the Actor's Studio, she changed her mind and enrolled at Miami-Dade Community College with aspirations of a career in medicine.

From 1978 to 1980, Victoria was married to Christopher Skinner. And after living together for several years with Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Harry Glassman (born in 1945), Victoria tied the knot with him in 1985. Recently, after 12 years of marriage, Victoria filed for divorce from Glassman on May 27, 2006, after they separated in March 2006 citing irreconcilable differences.

"I spent almost 24 years in a relationship, and now I'm learning to live my life about what I want, instead of what we want." Victoria Principal.


Living Principal

Career:

Beginning acting in a commercial at age 5, Victoria Principal turned her focus to chiropractic medicine as a future career. But after serious injuries in a car crash at age 18, she refocused her energy on acting. She moved to New York City and worked as a model while pursuing early acting jobs. Growing up in Florida, Victoria was voted Miss Miami of 1969.

After studying privately with Jean Scott at the RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London, Victoria moved to Los Angeles in 1971 to follow her dream of acting in films. She recalled: I arrived in California with no job, no car, and no money? But, like millions of other girls - a dream."

Victoria landed on her first film role as a Mexican mistress named Maria Elena (a.k.a. The Angel) in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), a John Huston western comedy movie starring Paul Newman. Loosely based on a real-life frontier self-appointed judge, the film also features Anthony Perkins, Jacqueline Bisset and Ava Gardner. And her impressive performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination for "Most Promising Newcomer."

Following her film debut, Veronica appeared in two episodes of ABC comedy anthology series "Love, American Style" and an episode of NBC mystery drama series starring George Peppard, "Banacek." And after having undistinguished roles in Donald Driver's film version of Desmond Morris' pop-anthropology book The Naked Ape (1973; alongside Johnny Crawford), produced by Hugh Hefner's Playboy Productions, and Mark Robson's thriller-drama Earthquake (1974; with Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner), Victoria left acting for nearly three years and worked as a talent agent for other actors. She also posed nude in Playboy magazine in a bid to flag her name.

In 1978, she planned to go to law school and got a year's tuition from Aaron Spelling after she played a role in the pilot of ABC fantasy series "Fantasy Island" (1978). That same year, she landed the role of Pamela Barnes Ewing (1978-1987), the stylish, reconciled wife of oilman Bobby Ewing (played by Patrick Duffy), on CBS' long-running prime-time soap opera "Dallas." The role earned Victoria a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Drama.

During her nine-year stint on the show, Victoria was also seen in the mini series "Greatest Heroes of the Bible" (1978) and the TV-movies Pleasure Palace (1980), Not Just Another Affair (1982; she starred as a marine biologist who is celibate) and Mistress (1987). Additionally, she briefly pursued a singing career in the company of her then-boyfriend Andy Gibb.

After leaving “Dallas,” Victoria began her own production company, Pryce Hill Principal Productions (named after a fantasy friend from childhood), which later renamed company Victoria Principal Productions. She has also created a line of skin care products and written three best-selling books about beauty and skin-care: The Body Principal (1983), The Beauty Principal (1984) and The Diet Principal (1987).

Joking about her skin care line, Principal Secret, Victoria said: "I wanted to name it Victoria's Secret but that name was already taken."

She also continues to work as an actress and producer. She garnered first producing credit, as the executive producer of the 1989 TV movie Naked Lie (she also starred as a high profile attorney takes on a sensational murder case), and made her stage acting debut in a production of A. R. Gurney's "Love Letters" in 1990.

During the early and the mid 1990s, Victoria was involved in a string of TV projects. In 1999, she returned to series work in recurring role as Mrs. Cecilia Barrett (1999-2001), the mother of Amanda Peet's Jack on the WB’s dramedy "Jack & Jill." Meanwhile, she had recurring roles as Dr. Amanda Rebecca on Fox animated comedy "Family Guy" and as Donna Tupperman on NBC drama series starring Melina Kanakaredes, "Providence." She also undertook regular role as a nightclub owner called Gwen Williams in the Aaron Spelling-produced NBC fall romantic drama series "Titans."

In 2001, Victoria released her next book, Living Principal, the fourth series of health books addressing women's issues. Victoria, whose parents suffered from arthritis, has served the Arthritis Foundation as Honorary Chairperson and Ambassador to Government for more than 10 years and was honored by then President Ronald Reagan for her work on behalf of arthritis victims. She is currently the national chairperson for the Los Aangeles-based Victory Over Violence, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending violence against women

Awards:
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