A lot of people are taken by the allure of Hollywood. They often get attracted to the glitz and glamor. However, there are a lot of people who have been in Hollywood and then decide to take a step back.
One of those stars was in the hit show ‘Dallas.’ When her star was rising, she decided to take a step back. Many cannot fathom doing something like that!
Keep reading to learn more about this star who left it all for a simple life.
A former television star beloved by millions around the world left it all when she was at the peak of her stardom. After a string of failed relationships, she wanted a change in her life so she left Hollywood for something that would serve her more.
Victoria Principal, a former television star, rose to prominence in the 70s and 80s for her role on the award-winning soap, “Dallas.” She traded her glamorous Hollywood life for a quieter one. She now devotes her time to rescuing animals and other worthwhile pursuits. At 74 years old, she looks wonderful. Keep reading to see her life as it is today.
The actress began her Hollywood career 970s, starting with a role in “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean,” starring alongside Paul Newman.
But four years into her acting career, Victoria Principal did not like the look of where it was headed and decided on a career change. She began to work as an agent and in 1978 decided to pursue a career in law. She wanted to get on the business side of Hollywood and possibly become a studio executive one day.
The pilot that changed it all
She enrolled in law school, but life had other plans for her. Aaron Spelling, a famed television producer and father to the infamous Tori Spelling, offered to cover her law school tuition for a year if she accepted the role in the 1977 pilot for Fantasy Island. She took the role and it ended up getting her the most significant career opportunity possible.
The opportunity was a role as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the hit CBS soap opera Dallas. This show, as we now know it, is a fan favorite with millions of viewers around the world. It is also one of the longest-running shows of all time.
“When I went in for the part on ‘Dallas,’ I had already fallen in love with the show and with the part. So my feeling from the moment I read it was that it was incredibly special, and I really, really wanted to be a part of it. I could not imagine not being Pam,” she said of it.
Her role as Pam made her a mainstay of television in the 1980s. “The first five years were some of the best television I’ve ever seen,” the actress later said.
When the actress was working on ‘Dallas,’ she met her first husband, actor Christopher Skinner. The pair were involved in a whirlwind romance and after just three dates, they married in a private ceremony in Las Vegas.
However, the marriage could not stand the test of time. She later reflected on the relationship, saying, “After a while, Christopher realized he really did want somebody who was home more, who had more traditional hours. He wanted a more traditional marriage. Now, that wasn’t his fault, and it wasn’t my fault. Needs change.”
She shared the reason they parted ways, “The reason we got divorced was not because we didn’t love each other, but because he couldn’t live within the way I lived, and I couldn’t live the way he wanted. There was no hate involved, just sorrow.”
She faced another heartbreak with the financier Bernie Cornfeld, she also had a relationship with the legendary singer Frank Sinatra and later one with pop star Andy Gibb.
The end of Pamela
Then after nine years of playing Pamela on ‘Dallas,’ the actress decided she was done with it. At that point she was not too happy with the series either.
“[…] After year seven, there was a definitive decline. At year seven, it was time for me to renegotiate my contract, and I was very candid about my concern and my disappointment,” she shared. She had issues with the writing and script, so after contract negotiations, she made the decision to leave ‘Dallas’ in 1987.
By the time she hung up her hat as Pamela, she had three best-selling fitness books for Simon & Schuster. She also had a lucrative six-figure endorsement deal with Jhirmack hair-care products. She also would receive residuals for years to come. After ‘Dallas‘ she decided to take on a CBS-TV movie “Mistress.” It was a drama about a small-town beauty entangled in a relationship with a wealthy married man. However, she found the transition from ensemble TV to film a little jarring.
Critics were harsh in their reviews, saying she was a ‘light weight,’ and it was apparent that she had never carried a film or a significant solo project. And called her choice to play a mistress ‘too obvious.”
After Dallas…
In 1983, the actress wrote the book ‘The Body Principal’, the first of her four health and wellness books. In 1991, she founded a skincare company that she headed for over 30 years successfully. In early 2000s, she led a handful of successful business ventures. She also landed another role in the show “Titans” from 2000 to 2001 but soon after, she felt her priorities shift drastically. “By the time I turned 50, I felt that I wanted to make a change in my life,” she shared about why she left Hollywood.
She also found love again with Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Harry Glassman after her breakup with Gibbs.
The both of them were coming out of long term relationships. The couple married in 1985 with Glassman once saying, “One of the things about the relationship with Victoria I’ve grown to resent is the lack of privacy.”
The couple went their separate ways in 2006 after over twenty years together. Principal focused her efforts on her skincare brand called ‘Principal Street’ but her heart was yearning for something else. In 2019, she stepped away as the head of her business.
“[…] I will be stepping down to devote myself full-time to my philanthropic work through The Victoria Principal Foundation for Thoughtful Existence and my rescue work with animals,” she said in a statement at the time.
The actress put her animal rescue work at the front and center after moving to a ranch in Los Angeles. From 2012, the actress chose to live a much quieter life, far from the Hollywood scene. She rescues animals who have been neglected and abused on her ranch.
“They need medical care, patience, and love to recover physically, emotionally, and in spirit. This is not a charitable organization but rather something I have dreamed of, and they all live out the rest of their lives with me,” she shared.
“It’s something that fills me with joy every day,” she revealed. She has not plans as of now to return to Hollywood, she said, “I have no plans to resume acting, but I learned a long time ago to ‘never say never’ as life has a way of offering us unexpected gifts if we are paying attention.”
Even though she has removed herself from the glamour of Hollywood, she still maintains a presence on social media. At 74, she shares snippets of her life and keeps her fans updated.
It is heartwarming to see Victoria Principal looking well! Share this with others who are fans of the actress to see what they think of this update about her life!