Victoria Principal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Victoria Principal
Principal in 1987
Born	Vicki Ree Principal (1950-01-03) January 3, 1950 (age 75) Fukuoka, Japan
Occupation	Actress producer entrepreneur author
Years active	1972–2001 (acting) 1987–present (producer and entrepreneur)
Spouse(s)	Christopher Skinner ​ ​ (m. 1978; div. 1981)​ Harry Glassman ​ ​ (m. 1985; div. 2006)​

Victoria Principal (born January 3, 1950) is an American actress, producer, businesswoman, and author. She is most famous for playing Pamela Barnes Ewing in the popular TV show Dallas. She was on the show for nine years, leaving in 1987. After Dallas, she started her own company, Victoria Principal Productions, to make TV movies. She also became interested in beauty products and launched her own skincare line, Principal Secret, in 1989.

Victoria Principal has written four best-selling books about beauty, fitness, and health. She has also been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards.

Early Life and First Steps

Victoria Principal was born Vicki Ree Principal on January 3, 1950, in Fukuoka, Japan. Her father was a sergeant in the United States Air Force. Because her father was in the military, her family moved a lot. She grew up in many places, including London, Puerto Rico, and different states in the U.S. She went to 17 different schools! While living in England, she even studied at the Royal Ballet School.

Victoria started acting in TV commercials when she was just 5 years old. After finishing high school in 1968, she went to college to study medicine. However, she later decided to follow her dream of acting. She moved to New York City and then to Europe to study acting. In 1971, she moved to Los Angeles to start her acting career.

Becoming an Actress

First Roles

In 1971, Victoria Principal moved to Los Angeles. She got her first movie role in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), starring Paul Newman. For this role, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as a promising new actress.

Principal and George Peppard around 1970

In 1974, she appeared in the disaster movie Earthquake. She got the part after changing her look to fit the character better. She continued to act in other movies like I Will, I Will ... for Now and Vigilante Force.

Taking a Break and Coming Back

For a while, Victoria Principal decided to stop acting. She worked as a talent agent in Hollywood from 1975 to 1977. She even thought about going to law school. But then, TV producer Aaron Spelling offered her a role in the pilot episode of his show Fantasy Island. She accepted, and this brought her back to acting.

Starring in Dallas

When Victoria Principal read the script for the TV show Dallas, she knew she wanted the part. She told TV Guide Network in 2004 that she felt her life would change. She got the role of Pamela Barnes Ewing in the long-running TV show Dallas, which aired on the CBS network from 1978 to 1991. She told People in 2018 that she "could not imagine not being Pam."

Victoria Principal managed her own contract talks for Dallas. She made sure that she owned the rights to her image and could do other projects. This is why she was the only cast member who could do commercials, TV movies, and write books while on the show.

Dallas became a huge hit around the world, especially with the famous "Who shot J.R.?" mystery in 1980. This episode was one of the most-watched TV episodes in American history.

In 1983, Victoria Principal received her second Golden Globe nomination for her role in Dallas. She even took voice lessons to get a better Texas accent for her character.

Her character, Pam Ewing, had a very important relationship with Bobby Ewing, played by Patrick Duffy. When Patrick Duffy's character was killed off and then brought back a year later, the show explained it by saying the entire previous season was just a dream Pam had. This part of the show is sometimes called the "dream season."

Victoria Principal left Dallas in 1987. She had planned her exit for two years to make sure her character's story ended well. She wanted to make sure people saw her as Victoria Principal, not just Pam Ewing. She explained that the writing quality of the show had also changed, which influenced her decision to leave.

After Dallas

Producing and Acting

After leaving Dallas in 1987, Victoria Principal started her own company, Victoria Principal Productions. She produced and starred in several TV movies, such as Naked Lie (1989), Blind Witness (1989), and Sparks: The Price of Passion (1990).

She also made guest appearances on popular TV shows like Home Improvement in 1994, and later Just Shoot Me!, Family Guy, and The Practice.

In 2000, she returned to a TV soap opera called Titans, but the show did not last long. After 2001, Victoria Principal decided to focus more on her skincare company and helping others. She told People in 2018 that she wanted to pursue her passion for creating products that could help many people.

In 2004, she appeared in a TV special called Dallas Reunion: The Return to Southfork with other original cast members of Dallas.

Music

In 1981, Victoria Principal recorded a song called "All I Have to Do Is Dream" with singer Andy Gibb. It was a duet and reached number 51 on the U.S. music charts. This was the only song Victoria Principal ever recorded.

Business Ventures

Principal at the 1993 Emmy Awards

Victoria Principal has been very successful in business. She told The Huffington Post in 2012 that she enjoys "Working for myself and being willing to take all of the blame when things go wrong and happy to take the credit when I get it right."

Victoria Principal Productions

As mentioned, after Dallas, she started her own production company. She produced and starred in many TV movies through this company.

Principal Secret Skincare

In the mid-1980s, Victoria Principal became very interested in natural beauty. In 1989, she launched her own skincare product line called Principal Secret. This business has been very successful, earning over $1.5 billion by 2013.

In April 2019, Victoria Principal announced that she was stepping away from Principal Secret. She decided to focus on her foundation, The Victoria Principal Foundation for Thoughtful Existence, which supports environmental causes.

Books

Victoria Principal is also a best-selling author. In the 1980s, she wrote three books about beauty, skincare, fitness, and health:

• The Body Principal (1983)
• The Beauty Principal (1984)
• The Diet Principal (1987)

In the 2000s, she wrote a fourth book, Living Principal (2001). Her book The Body Principal was a number one best-seller on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Awards and Honors

Victoria Principal has received many awards and honors throughout her career:

• She was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards: in 1973 for The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean and in 1983 for Dallas.
• In 1981 and 1982, she won the "Bravo Otto" Award in Germany, which honors great performers.
• In 1993, she received an honorary law degree.
• In 1995, she was named Entertainment Business Woman of the Year.
• In 1999, she received the Genii Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Television.
• In 2003, she received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California.
• In 2004, she received an honorary degree from Drexel University's Business School.

Personal Life

Victoria Principal has been married and divorced twice. She does not have any children.

Her first marriage was to writer-producer Christopher Skinner. They met in 1978 and were married for about two years.

She also had a well-known relationship with singer Andy Gibb. They met in 1981 and even recorded a duet song together. Their relationship ended in 1982.

In 1983, Victoria Principal met plastic surgeon Dr. Harry Glassman. They got married in 1985 while she was still on Dallas. They were married for over 20 years before divorcing in 2006.

Victoria Principal later moved to Malibu, California. She also owns properties in Big Sur, California, and Switzerland. For a time, she was interested in taking a flight into space with Virgin Galactic, but she later decided not to.

Since 2012, she has been working on a ranch outside of Los Angeles where she rescues and helps animals.

Helping Others

Principal with President Ronald Reagan in 1986

Victoria Principal cares deeply about the environment and animals. She told The Huffington Post in 2012, "My deepest concern is for the planet and every living thing on it."

In 2006, she started her own charity, the Victoria Principal Foundation For Thoughtful Existence. This foundation helps support environmental causes. She is especially involved in protecting oceans, banning harmful substances, helping children, and rescuing animals.

She has given money to help clean up after the 2008 California wildfires and the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf Coast. She also appeared on a TV show with Larry King to raise money for the Gulf Coast cleanup.

Victoria Principal has worked with many organizations to protect the environment and help animals. She has supported efforts to stop offshore drilling, funded a fire warning system for Los Angeles, and helped rescue sea lion pups. She also helped animals affected by tornadoes and floods in Oklahoma and Texas.

In 2014, she made a large donation to help save bees, saying, "Without bees, our fruit- and vegetable-bearing plants and trees will cease to be productive." She also helped a military working dog return to the U.S. from Japan to be reunited with its handler.

In 2018, she donated rescue boats to help animals after Hurricane Florence. She continues to be a strong supporter of environmental and animal welfare causes.

Movies and TV Shows

Movies

Television

Books by Victoria Principal

• The Beauty Principal. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984; ISBN: 0-671-49643-3.
• The Diet Principal. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987; ISBN: 0-671-53082-8.
• Living Principal: Looking and Feeling Your Best at Every Age. New York: Villard, 2001; ISBN: 0-375-50488-5.

See also

In Spanish: Victoria Principal para niños