It is been quite a few years since the television show, Dallas, was popular. People would run to the couch in the evening to sit and watch the show every week.
There were a lot of big stars on Dallas, which was part of its appeal. Larry Hagman was perhaps the best-known of the actors but we should never forget about Victoria Principal, as she was one of the biggest reasons people tuned into the show.
These days, Victoria is 74 years old and when you see pictures of her, you might be surprised with just how beautiful she looks. Despite the fact that it is been years since she was popular on Dallas, she is aging gracefully.
Victoria Ree Principal was born in Japan on January 3, 1950. Her father was in the Air Force and was stationed in Japan, so she lived the first three months of her life in that country.
When she was young, she moved a lot with her family as they went from one Air Force Base to another. Some of the different places where she lived included England, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, and Florida. She went to 17 different schools during that time.
It is debatable as to whether she had a happy childhood or not but she was said to have a difficult relationship with her mother. She allegedly described her childhood as being miserable and just said she wished she had known that her childhood would end.
When she was only five, she ended up on a television commercial but she appeared to go in a different direction when she went to Miami-Dade Community College. She began studying medicine but was in a terrible accident just before she completed her first year of college.
She was injured in a car crash to the point where she had to stay in rehab for a number of months. She missed a lot of her college classes and had to take the first year all over again. That is when she moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting.
She did land a role in the movie, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, where she played along with Paul Newman. She said that it brought her into the fold, and people started inviting her to parties but it wasn’t always for the right reasons.
In 1974, she appeared in Earthquake, and in 1975, she was in the film, Vigilante Force. while on the set, however, she collapsed because she was under too much stress.
Eventually, she landed a role in Dallas. She said: “I had left acting to be an agent and was on my way to law school, but when a friend dropped off a Dallas script, I read it. When I finished, I knew my life had changed – that part was mine. So I called the [casting] person and said, ‘I’m sending someone in.’ She said, ‘Who?’ I said, ‘Just put down my name. It will be a surprise.’ And it certainly was a surprise – I showed up with me! I sent myself in for it!”
She was already in love with the show by the time she played the first part. She really wanted to be a part of it and fit right in.
As they say, the rest is history and after the show aired in 1978, she was on her way to being a super celebrity. She was only 28 years old at the time and was one of the big reasons why it became such a hit.
She was nominated for a Golden Globe and two soap opera digest awards during the time that she was on Dallas. She also has revealed some of the things going on behind the scenes since that time.
“Going toe to toe with J.R., a.k.a. Larry Hagman, was always a delight. Larry was a generous actor and would find a way to talk to me the morning of the scene about how we could make it even more powerful.
“There were phone calls, but I didn’t really have get-togethers. We never hung out really anyway. We worked together and we had different lives. When I started the show Patrick was married and starting a family, Steve was married and starting a family, Larry was married with children, Linda was married with children. I was single. And so those are very different lifestyles.”
She has been through her ups and downs over the years and these days, she continues to be someone to look to, as she ages gracefully and continues to inspire people with what she does.