Victoria Principal – Exclusive Interview

Colin Hunter – Hi Victoria, thank you so much for taking part.

Victoria Principal - Thank you. I don’t know if you know but I have never done an interview for the Dallas website but you have such a nice reputation about you so this is my first time.

Colin – That is very kind of you. Thank you so much. Thousands of questions have come in from your fans on the Official Ultimate Dallas Website and the TellyTalk.net message boards. It has been astounding.

Victoria Principal – Are you the person who decided what to ask out of the thousands?

Colin – Myself and my trusty colleague. It was not easy (Laughs).
So let’s kick off. The first question is from Kate in the USA and is something that perhaps needs clearing up.

Kate in the USA asks, Victoria, I am a huge fan of you in your "Dallas" years and also love your skin care line. I am wondering why you have two reported birth dates, one 1946 and the other 1950? Depends on where you look. Why the discrepancy? Just curious

Victoria Principal - I was born January 3rd 1950. I’m 57 years old and I have just made my passport available to IMDB.com, obviously doing so is a little dangerous, you don’t want anyone to have your passport but I felt that was the only way to clear this up once and for all.
My name is my real name; my age is my real age. Someone on the internet, years ago, printed a different age than I am and I’m in the process legally of clearing that up, because I have never lied about my age.
It really hurts my feelings because if I lie about my age then what kind of integrity do I have.

Colin – Do you find that difficult when you read things and hear things that are not true? There was the situation recently where it was printed Charlene Tilton made comments about you, again fabricated.

Victoria Principal - You just can’t control everything. But this age thing I have a very difficult time with because I have written four books all encouraging women to embrace good health, to be kind and generous to themselves, and to be honest with themselves and to also embrace the ageing process in a way I call youthful maturity.
So if I’m lying about my age how that does affect all those women who have trusted me.
On the other hand if I was between 64 and 66, god I look great (Laughs loudly)
So I want everyone to know out there I have never lied about my age and unfortunately it has taken a life of its own and I’ve taken every legal venue available to me to straighten it out and the fact is Victoria Principal is my real name and I really was born in 1950. By the way it’s a no brainer, my father was in the Air Force and that is public record. In my first commercial I was actually five, if we are too believe these rumors I was actually ten. It’s hard to look five at ten (Laughs loudly)

Joanna in New Zeland asks – Hi Victoria. You have stated that 2006 was the worse year of your life. What is your philosophy on dealing with things life throws at you ? I hope 2007 is better

Victoria Principal - I don’t think tragedy, grief or stress changes us, I think it reveals us. It reveals to us and anyone who is observing us, who we are. When bad things happen, we don’t have control over those bad things but we do have control over how we respond to them. I am able to look back on 2006 and knowing it was a very very difficult year on so many different levels, but knowing I am proud of the way I responded.

Colin – Does it make it worse going through these things in public, such as your divorce played out in the press?

Victoria Principal - Oh absolutely. Because people you never met read things you’ve said or didn’t say and feel that they have a certain degree of involvement in your life, one which you would choose to keep private. I don’t know if you have noticed but there was not a single statement from me during the divorce or once the divorce was final. I chose to lead my life the way I have always tried to lead it and that is to draw a healthy boundary between my public life and my personal life.
There were statements made by other people but not by me. There were statements made by other people during the process that were inaccurate but rather than respond I chose not too because that just put me in dialogue with the very people I was choosing not to be involved with again for the rest of my life.

Colin – and 2007?

Victoria - Well it’s definitely better (Laughs loudly) Colin are you married?

Colin – Nope, no I’m not

Victoria – Have you ever been married?

Colin – No but I’m in a long term relationship. Like most relationships it can be difficult at the best of times. (Laughs)

Victoria – I just wondered if you had a point of reference. Basically what I did, I have started my life over in many different ways. Not only am I single now , I have moved to a place I have always wanted to live, I’ve built a home I have always wanted to build and I’m living the way I’ve always wanted to live.

Colin - How did you always want to live?

Victoria Principal – Well I no longer live in the city. I live basically on the edge of the world in a seaside community. It’s further out from Los Angeles and from the business so to speak. I’m living a life which is more in unison with nature, where life is not centred around show business, where dinner conversations are infrequently about show business. I feel it’s a much more well rounded life.
Was that an incredibly boring answer? (Laughs loudly with that famous hearty laugh)

Colin - (Laughs) No not at all. One thing that has come out from the questions and the members on the forum is that people are interested in how you live your life. Many women especially find you inspiring.

Victoria Principal – Thank you.

Kelly Brighton asks As a business woman, and some who seems to want to make the best of life. Did you ever feel frustrated by playing the character of Pamela Ewing?

Victoria Principal – Yes I did. I had to give myself an attitude adjustment about it because in the beginning I loved the character of Pam.
It’s very hard for most people to recall but in the beginning Pam, who had never gone to college, who was from the wrong side of town so to speak, really self educated herself and pulled herself up in the world. She didn’t have two parents, her father was a drunkard, and she really had to fight for everything she aspired too and achieved. When Bobby married her, he wasn’t marrying milk toast; she was very, very spirited; she was always a good person. I always felt Pam was the moral centre of the programme but she was complicated, and she was fiery, she had opinions, and she was not afraid to voice them. But as the years went by, as JR became more and more evil, the writers felt, and I certainly understand why for the benefit of the show, that Pam had to become more and more good. The way they perceived goodness was to write out her fieriness.

Colin – So did you not have an input on how the character progressed?

Victoria Principal – Once the show achieved extraordinary world wide fame I don’t think any of us had much input. You know the old saying if its not broken don’t fix it, I really believe that Lorimar looked upon it as something that was working and they did not want to deviate from the formula.

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Christina asks – I admire your confidence. You have inspired me throughout my life. You see to deal with all that life throws at you. From your recent public divorce, to stock car racing and flying into space. Where does this confidence come from?

Victoria Principal – I don’t race Stock cars they are Formula Fords. I have a Formula Ford license.
Life is complicated; we never know what life is going to throw at us. If we have a relationship with ourselves where we know our strengths and our weaknesses and we’re really honest with ourselves, I think it helps us cope with everything better. It doesn’t mean we can’t work towards strengthening our weaknesses, but just having an honest relationship with yourself, knowing who you are and who you’re not is a good start.

Joshua Slow asks I found your performance in the telefilm MISTRESS to be quite expressive. What did you draw on most for this role?

Victoria Principal – Wow. I think the answer is not going to be quite what he expected.I was ready to leave Dallas and the reason I wanted to leave was I never envisioned that Dallas would be my career; I felt that it was a job. I loved the show but as of the seventh year I did feel there was an incremental decline going on so I really wanted to leave in 1987 and I did do so.Not only did I leave because I did feel the show was in decline but I left because there was so many things I wanted to try and see if I could do them. One of them was to take my ability as an actress to another level, Mistress allowed me to do that. It was written by a woman who went on to become Oscar nominated, it was produced by Sherry Lansing and Richard Fischoff. My first project after I left Dallas and I had only been gone for a couple of months, was this extraordinary project with this great writer, great producers, and a great director.That’s one of the reasons I left Dallas, was to find projects like that.

Pamkins South Africa asks In 1985 you stated that you were looking forward to live without Bobby. Did his return influence your decision to leave? It seems the women were downgraded at this time.

Victoria Principal – I think there is a misunderstanding. I never looked forward to being on Dallas without Patrick Duffy. It’s just once that decision was made and I had nothing to do with that decision, I wanted to make lemonade out lemons, and what I was going to try to do was take the opportunity to work with another actor and create some new acting experiences. I was just trying to make the best of the situation; I was using it as a challenge to raise the bar for myself in terms of my performance and my interactions on Dallas.

Colin – It seemed in the infamous dream season, as it is now known, you had a pivotal role, but in the subsequent season the character of Pamela was weakened considerably.

Victoria Principal – Well I had told the Producers and the network that I would be leaving Dallas in 1987, I told them this in 1985. I had two years left on my deal and so I think that the last year I was on, they were preparing the audience for less of me. Just before I left Dallas, the network and Lorimar came to me and offered me the most money in the history of television for a woman. It would of made me the highest paid actress on television had I accepted the offer. It was time to go and I found out a lot about myself, I can’t be bought.

Milly Oklamaoa asks Can you tell us how it you felt on set during the Phil Capice era?

Victoria Principal – The dream season, although a lot of people found the concept foolish, there really was no other way to have Patrick Duffy return in just one single show. Necessity being the mother of invention, so the invention served the abrupt transition very well. Going from a year of Pam’s life that didn’t exist back to being married to Bobby. So whether or not I was a fan of the way they chose to do it, what matters is that they did find a way to do it successfully. No one was happier than me to see Pat back (Laughs)

Colin – Is it true you didn’t know until you saw the show?

Victoria Principal – Well to some degree, yes. I wasn’t there the day he shot the scene that he was back; I knew before it ever aired, Leonard Katzman told me. So I was delighted.
Getting back to Phil Capice, as much as I loved Lenny, I speak in the presence tense as I will never stop loving him, I adored Phil Capice. I really had a wonderful working relationship with him.

Colin – Do you believe that the partnership of Phil Capice and Leonard Katzman worked better for the show, rather than them working apart? This has been suggested by other cast members.

Victoria Principal – I don’t know if better, I think it was different and sometimes different can feel better.

James from London asks Even though Bobby and Pam is such an iconic couple, in some ways I found Pam's relationship with Mark Graison more interesting--there was something very poignant and bittersweet about it. Can you recall your reaction upon hearing that Pam was going to divorce Bobby and have a new love interest?

Victoria Principal – Well don’t forget because Patrick was leaving that was all part of that. What I kept doing, I viewed all of these changes and once again tried to make the best of them as an actress.

Sidney in NY asks - It is now 20 years since you left Dallas. Would you ever consider being in a reunion movie. Would you be in it under any capacity?

Victoria Principal – No I would not. I think some things are better left alone. There is a time and place to consider a reunion movie but twenty years later it feels pathetic.(Laughs loudly, again the hearty laugh is back and is extremely contagious).

Colin – (now has the giggles)

Victoria Principal – That used to get me in trouble, I’m just much too candid (Laughs)

Colin – Actually all these years later, there is such a big thing about your exit, there was no defining end to the character.

Victoria Principal – That’s because everyone whoever left Dallas came back and they kept the idea going that I might come back and I was fully resolved not too.

Charmed one 82 asks Is it true you'd have returned for the last episode of Dallas had it been guaranteed as the last ever episode?

Victoria Principal – No it’s not true. I was asked back for the last episode.

Colin – We now have a question about Earthquake.

Victoria Principal – (Laughs loudly) About my hair?

Scott Keith in Hollywood asks Earthquake is such a fun movie, what do you think of it and can you share a few memories?

April in Roma also asks What was going on with the hair in Earthquake?

Victoria Principal – I read the script and knew I had a good chance of getting it, but knew almost every actress in Hollywood wanted it. Because this character, Rosa, was Italian, and kind of funky, I thought it would be interesting if I cut off my waist length, long dark hair and permed it into an ethnic hairstyle.
I think we all probably turned in good auditions but the hair is what put them over. It was my hair during the entire movie. We had to go back and do re-shoots for the movie, I think half a year later, so it had to be a wig because I was not going to do that again. (Laughs)

Pauline in Scotland asks Did you ever regret your perm in 1981, I got the same kind 3 weeks after I saw you with yours and it took me forever to get rid on my split ends!!

Victoria Principal – I think I’ve regretted every perm and that’s why I stopped (Laughs*)I permed it for Earthquake and permed it again while I was on Dallas. Spur of the moment and impetuous thing to do. I’ll try never to repeat it (Laughs)

J.H. in Georgia, U.S.A asks Starting a business seems to be an ultimate leap of faith in yourself. I suppose we all have moments where we fear failure or have doubts. When you were hit with those moments while you were planning a new career, what did you do to overcome them?

Victoria Principal – You know the saying ‘all you have to fear is fear itself’ , when I’m beginning a new venture or in the midst of one and I’m having anxiety and fears about it , I try and separate the realistic fears from the fears of fear. I think the fear of failure really gets in our way. If I can’t sleep because I’m worried about failing what I need to do is stop concentrating on failing and start concentrating on fixing it.

Sarah in Ireland asks Along with Barbara Bel Geddes, you are probably the most mysterious out of all the Dallas cast. Is there any truth in the rumors that you really did distance yourself from the rest of the cast outside of working hours?

Victoria Principal – Well I think just because you make your living on camera doesn’t mean you have to live your life on camera. When I begun the show I already a very tight intimate circle of friends and I maintained those friendships. It doesn’t mean I didn’t have a lovely working relationship with everyone in the cast and it doesn’t mean I didn’t have particular fondness for Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick, Larry, Charlene and Mary Crosby.

Colin – Does this go back to what you mentioned earlier regarding that boundary between professional and personal?

Victoria Principal – When I was doing Dallas, we started in 1978, Charlene and I were the only two people who were single and so my life was very different from the rest of the cast since they were married with families. We were in different places in life.

Denny Lang from Arizona asks I am starting out as a model. Could you advise me?

Victoria Principal – My advice would be, if you can avoid it don’t be a model (The hearty laugh again)
It was the most difficult job of my life. It meant that everything was about the way I look. I think that is just one aspect of anyone and if that is the focus of everything then you are going to be leading a very shallow life

Colin – Did you find it difficult that people didn’t see beyond the surface?

Victoria Principal – I think when I was very young, being treated just for the way I looked really really was difficult for me. But as time went by I realised that there are ways that I could make this work for me. In as much as that when I went into a business meeting it was much more likely that I would make a better deal because I would be underestimated.

Colin – So being a woman you must did you feel you had to fight harder in those situations.

Victoria Principal – I felt I always had to try harder for being a woman in this business.

Colin – and what about now?

Victoria Principal – I think once the woman becomes successful in show business she wields a greater power and authority then women in some other businesses. But there doesn’t seem to be any middle road, it’s the swing of the pendulum, either you have almost no forum and no power or you have an extraordinary amount. There should be a middle road, a middle healthy road in show business where you can be treated simply as a person and valued for your virtues and your strengths and your intelligence.
In terms of other business, most of what I do now is run my skincare business, interestingly enough the large skincare businesses are owned and run by men. So when I started in the skincare business eighteen years ago it surprised me that I was doing most of my business with men. I found myself in a very similar situation once again where I had to work twice as hard to earn my position.
But once again the flipside I was very often underestimated and it did allow me to (laughs), to grow my business a little more rapidly.

Maria in London asks Victoria you are the best. I love Principal Secret, it really does work. What inspired you to start the company?

Victoria Principal – I had been interested in skin care since I was a little girl but I always had very nice skin. When I began working as an actress I began to have tremendous skin problems. Dermologists could only solve the problem for short periods of time with antibiotics , which is no way to live and so I went in search of a way to control the skin care issues in a more natural way and it turned out I was allergic to a lot of ingredients in skin care and in makeup. So I had three products made just for me, a cleanser, and a cream I could use day or night and a night cream. My skin cleared up amazingly and my girlfriends began asking to borrow my skin care. But Colin nobody ever borrows skin care; they don’t ever return it (laughs). I realised my products worked not only for me but I really wanted to make this available to other women. So in the 80’s I created my company and then it first became available on the market in 1991.

Colin - Men also use your products. I have used them (laughs)

Victoria Principal – and what did you think?

Colin – Excellent. Really good.

Victoria Principal – Thank you. My Reclaim line and reclaim Age Braker line, have just been one of the most elite skin care awards for 2007. It’s been chosen as the top skin care line.

Colin – How can you purchase the products?

Victoria Principal – You can buy my products through my website, you can buy them through an 800 number, and you can order them directly from the infomercial that not only airs in the United States everyday but in thirty countries. In August QVC is giving me a party on the air because it will be the 16th year I have been appearing on QVC, making it the longest celebrity skin care line in its history.

Tatianna in Virginia asks Hello Miss Principal. Pamela was such a popular character and fans feel disappointed at the way her character just simply disappeared without giving the viewers closure. How do you feel about her exit from the show and is Pamela dead?

Victoria Principal – I liked the exit. I thought the fiery car crash was a punctuation mark, I liked it. It was dramatic and I was glad I didn’t have a lingering death scene, it was clean. Do I consider Pamela dead? I would think as long as I’m alive Pamela is not dead. Having played her for nine years there is just some sort of molecular process that goes on and she is now a part of me.

Tyler Mitchell in San Diego asks How much of Victoria Principal did we see in Pamela Barnes Ewing?

Victoria Principal – I think that the Pamela that was written and the Pamela that I played the first year was the closest to me. As the years went on and she was pasteurized, there were elements of me but less so. Although I think anyone and all of us should aspire to be as good and kind, and honest as Pam.

Colin – Would you consider Pamela a strong character as she stayed true to her beliefs?

Victoria Principal – Oh absolutely. She had a very firm, unwavering moral compass, unlike everyone else on the show.

Colin – There is a tendency for strong female characters to be portrayed with a mean streak.

Victoria Principal – People often see things in black and white terms, they often misconstrue kindness as weakness when in fact it is not. Just as violence is not strength.

Sidney Trantham in Boston, MA asks What was your experience on Titans? Why did it get the chop so soon?

Victoria Principal – (laughs loudly) Well it got axed because it became a lousy show. I think the original concept for Titans was really exciting, it was going to be a dark, funny, satire. It was going to be a cross between Soapdish and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman but instead it didn’t know what it was, it lost its way. It aspired to be something really interesting and really smart and it lost its way.

Colin – John Barrowman is TV in the UK at the moment

Victoria Principal – Oh my god I adore John. My two best reasons going to the set everyday were Perry King and John (laughs)

Colin – He seems to be on everything at the moment. You can’t turn on your TV without seeing him (laughs)

Victoria Principal – Is he being good?

Colin – Depends who you ask (laughs) I think bad and good

Victoria Principal – I have not seen or spoken to John since I left the show. Has he been a bad boy and got caught?

Colin – (laughs) He is big in a show called Doctor Who.

Victoria Principal – Well if you speak to him give him my love.

Kristin D in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada asks Hello Victoria! Thank you for this opportunity! Which Season is YOUR favorite and why?

Victoria Principal – Well in the first five years they were all my favorites. I think the first five years are just the pinnacle of serial television in terms of must see. By year seven I just felt there was a very incremental decline going on and I think it had something to do with loosing the writers and also with the Network feeling they had a formula that worked and not wanting to do anything differently. The one constant in life is change so it really is necessary for a show to change in order to grow. I felt that kind of growth had ceased. That choices were being made for characters and storylines not so much for the organic and true growth of the show but for a kind of tabloid interest hurt the show.

Colin – It seemed to be influenced by Dynasty

Victoria Principal – You know what is so interesting about that. Dynasty, the original title, was Denver Oil. It was so clearly a rip off of Dallas that they were forced to change the title.

Colin – Didn’t Linda Evans try for the role of Pam?

Victoria Principal – The first person to ever meet for the role of Pam was me. I was their first interview and there we have it.

Colin – Maybe it is another one of those internet rumors (laughs)

Victoria Principal – You know something, between my first meetings and getting it I’m sure there were many many meetings. I went in for the part of Pam when I was 27; I was 28 when I got the part. It was four months later.

Sarah in France (Toulouse) asks Hi Victoria, I'm a Workout teacher and I know your enormous contribution in the workout world. My question is in "Dallas" when Pam had her own Workout club, was this kind of business your choice or was it a producer’s idea?

Victoria Principal – It was the producers. When I went to sign the Dallas contract, because of my previous incarnation as an agent and the fact I had studied contractual law, I really read the contract myself. I realised that one of the paragraphs meant that no one in the Dallas cast could do a commercial or any outside project without the explicit involvement of the network. They had to give their approval and they got a piece of the action. So I X’d out that paragraph and it was a deal breaker for me, and so the network very quietly agreed to make me the exception in the cast. As a result that’s why, you can only notice in hindsight, I was the only person in the cast who did commercials, who was doing movies of the week, who wrote books and these all belong to me. I retained the control and ownership of my image. No one owns me

Helene in Rotterdam, the Netherlands asks Are you ever going to leave us a book about your life? I would really like to know how you did it all. Totally love you and wish you all the best! Helene

Victoria Principal – Well actually I had not intended to ever write an autobiography but I have been approached in such a flattering and interesting way by one of the major publishers in America that I am now reconsidering it.

Pammy Presley in the United Kingdom asks I loved the character Pamela Barnes Ewing; did you have a say in the style of clothes you wore as Pammy? Thanks,

Victoria Principal – There was a designer on Dallas but I chose to pick out my own clothing. So I was very involved in my clothing. I didn’t keep the clothing, because I felt that was crossing one of the boundaries I set for myself and that was when I left the set of Dallas I left Pam there.

Colin – What is the story with the nightgown from the iconic shower scene?

Victoria Principal – The nightgown and the robe were mine and I brought them to the set of Dallas to use for the scene because the scene came up so suddenly. So yes I took those home because I brought them from home. (laughs)
The only thing I took from the set of Dallas was I kept all three of the rings that were used over the years. The first engagement ring from Bobby, the second engagement ring from Bobby and the ring from Mark. I have those. I did ask if I could have them and they said yes.
So I have all three rings and I still have my nightgown and robe. I have it preserved, I was going to give it to the museum of television and they don’t have a facility to keep things like that so I have been thinking of auctioning it off on EBay and the money would go to a charity I care deeply about. I’ve received unsolicited letters over the years, people offering twenty thousand dollars for the nightgown and robe, so I thought this might be money well spent for something I care deeply about.

Pete in NJ asks can you tell us about your trip into space?

Victoria Principal – Yes I’m going into space. (Laughs) When I first heard about it I called Richard Branson, I was the first woman to sign up and I will be doing my space training and then going up late next year.

Colin – (laughs) I would be petrified. Is it not nerve racking? (laughs)

Victoria Principal – (laughs) No Colin its not nerve racking. I have a history of enjoying unusual experiences, thrills I suppose. Someone asked me if I thought I was taking a risk and very often I think when we don’t do things that is the greater risk. I consider this living. If you think about how many people have lost their lives going into space more people loose their lives every hour on the freeway.

Richard in Kingswinford, UK asks I'm watching the early seasons of Family Guy on DVD at the moment, and recently I was surprised when at the end of one episode you and Patrick Duffy appeared in a kind of spoof of the end of the dream season of Dallas. Did you find this strange revisiting that classic moment from Dallas? It was very funny that scene by the way.

Victoria Principal – It was wonderful. It sounded like so much fun and of course I was able to take my nightgown and robe out of the closet and wear it once again. It was great working with Patrick, within thirty seconds we just got right back into the same synergy and the same comfort zone and the joy of working together again.

Colin – You also reunited for reunion show Charlene was involved in producing

Victoria Principal – Yes and that was a joy. I had not participated in any of the reunions prior to that, nor any of the movies of the week. When that came up and I thought now it is a different situation, I knew that Charlene would handle it in such a way and Henry Winker, that it would be done with good judgment and forethought, so we could avoid the pathetic elements. It was a really joyful, honest reunion. Now I’ve done it. I have never done it before and I sincerely doubt I will do it again but it was great to do it. It was a terrific punctuation mark.

Pauline in Scotland asks What are your memories of Barbara Bel Geddes? You said that heaven was in for a good time now that she was there at the time of her death

Victoria Principal – Oh god yes. Barbara was bright and fun and honest and curious, she was extraordinary. To this day, next to my bed, sits a mug she gave me that she had engraved and I keep my pens in it. I think of her everyday when I take a pen and write something down.

Jerry in White City asks Who do you most admire?

Victoria Principal – Well Ghandi (Laughs loudly)There are people who are well known people but I find the people who inspire me most are not the people who are publically heralded for the big things they did but in fact people that I know who live their lives daily, very quietly, with great integrity and honestly and consistency. I think if everyone could do that the world would be a better place.

Zac in Salt Lake City asks how was your relationship with Larry Hagman?

Victoria Principal – It was wonderful. I adore Larry. I knew him before Dallas, we continue to stay in touch. Larry is a unique human being and I really celebrate his uniqueness. I just got a card from him.

Ginger in Texas asks I have bags and circles under my eyes. I might consider surgery. What else can I do?

Victoria Principal – You can approach the bags through surgery if you choose. There are a number of products that have come out that can temporally reduce bagginess under the eyes. But in terms of circles there is no surgery for that. What you are seeing is the blood supply under the eye; the eye area produces the least amount of moisture. Its thinner skin, its the most fragile skin on the face and so really what one is seeing is ones own blood. Now of course it doesn’t help if you stay up late, and you don’t drink enough water and you abuse yourself in the sun and if you smoke.

Colin – There is no hope for me then (laughs)

Victoria Principal – There is always hope Colin

Colin – Is there? (Laughs) You have just listed everything I do

Victoria Principal – The hope is you will recognise it and do something about it.

Nicola Cox in Papworth Everard asks Can I buy your skin care in the shops?

Victoria Principal – The reason they can’t is because my dream when I started Principal Secret, was to make great high end skin care affordable. So by choosing direct sales I am able to spend so much money on the ingredients because I’m not having to deal with the stores and not having to pay the overheads.
So by not going retail and never going public, its still a privately owned company, I am able to retain the kind of control that ensures I will always have the integrity I started with the products.

Rosie asks – Were there cliques on the set of Dallas with one group in a position of power?

Victoria Principal – I never felt part of a group that way. As far as I was concerned, I went to work, did my job and went home. If those politics existed on the set I was unaware of them.

Pauline in Scotland also asks You once made a single with Andy Gibb; do you think a singing career would have been an option?

Victoria Principal – Well quite honestly I made more than one. We didn’t release them. Warner Brothers offered me an album deal and I declined because I knew that I was not a great singer. Andy and I were deeply in love and really enjoyed the project together. It was intended to further any kind of singing career and it was easy to decline the offers that followed.

Kay Bohlen in Germany asks You may remember that you've met Olivia Newton-John a couple of times (e.g.in Switzerland and in Olivia's former Koala Blue boutique-chain). You both would make a fantastic singing duo. Any plans for that?

Victoria Principal – (Laughs loudly) I really like Olivia and I like her too much to ever do that. She can sing. I can’t (laughs)

Colin - At one point it was rumored Olivia was cast as Pam in the Dallas movie, if it ever happens.

Victoria Principal – You know If we took all the rumors we’d have a book. I’ve been asked who I think should play Pam and I think it should be Halle Berry. I think she would bring all the aspects that are necessary to play Pam. I think she looks right, she has great talent, I think she has a soft sensuality about her that is not overt, she has kindness and strength, she is perfect for Pam.

Colin - We will see if the movie actually happens.

Victoria Principal – I wouldn’t hold my breath unless you look good in blue.(Laughs again) I think like many things its time has come and gone.

Sue in Boston asks Hi Victoria. What are your future plans? Any TV work coming up? I would love to see you back on television.

Victoria Principal – Well obviously running a world wide company is a full time job. But I am approached on a regular basis about television, sometimes independent features, so it is not unlikely that if something I fall in love with I would do it.

Colin – Victoria thank you, fantastic. We ran over time.

Victoria Principal – Oh Colin, its fine, we both lost track of time because I was enjoying it so much.

Colin – Before you go. Do you use the surf the inernet much ?

Victoria Principal – Oh yes (The wonderful hearty laugh returns for one final time)

Colin – Have you visited UltimateDallas.com ?

Victoria Principal – Prior to us getting together like this today. Now it has peaked my curiousity so I'll need to visit more often in the future.