Pamela Barnes Ewing
A Barnes by birth, an Ewing by love — and a woman caught in the most famous feud in Texas.
“When I see you Pam, I know something wonderful came out of that awful time.” — Rebecca Wentworth, 1981
Early Life
The story of her early life is that she was born in Corpus Christi, Texas to Willard Barnes and Rebecca Blake Barnes and she had an older brother, Clifford. She was told by Digger that her mother Rebecca had died when Pam was just a baby, but the truth would come out years later. She was a very happy baby and giggled and laughed from almost the day she was born. At 10 months she began walking, one day she just stood up and walked right over to Digger.
She and Cliff were brought up by Digger’s sister Maggie, living in a rundown part of Dallas. Her aunt was a religious fanatic and Pam loved her dearly. As Pam said in later years, “When you get right down to it, Cliff and I were just two poor kids, brought up on the wrong side of the tracks.”
The Teenage Years
As time went by Digger visited his children less and less. When he did see them all he seemed to talk about was Jock Ewing. Pamela grew up hating the Ewing family. As Cliff told her in later years, “You was worse than I was. You used to break windows in the old Ewing Oil office downtown. You were the one who plotted revenge.”
But as time went by her hate began to fade as she realised that it was holding her back. She wanted to be someone in her own right; she, Pamela Barnes, could be somebody.
She tried out cheerleading and made the team; they were asked to perform at the Sun Bowl in El Paso. It was Pam’s first big trip and she went off terribly excited at her first “look at the world”.
It was here she met a young, handsome soldier, Edison Haynes, who declared his love for the fifteen-year-old Pamela. He asked her to marry him and, swooning and with dreams of her own “normal” family, she agreed. Ed whisked her across the border to Juarez to get married, which they did. But Digger found them before they had time to consummate the marriage and he dragged her back, heartbroken, to Dallas. Ed was shipped off to Vietnam the next day and Digger got the marriage annulled.
After Graduation
When she graduated from school Pam got a job at The Store, a clothing store in Dallas. It was not a terrific job but Pam had a flair for fashion and she made enough money to maintain her own one-bedroom apartment. An avid reader, she kept up with the current events and issues and was well read in the classics as well as the bestsellers. She dated frequently, from Jack Easton, one of the wealthiest bachelors in Dallas, to a State Senator, but then she met a cowboy – Ray Krebbs, the foreman of Southfork Ranch.
The couple had a fun time and had no illusions about their future together. Then Ray asked her to attend a barbecue at Southfork Ranch. Pam refused to go, how could she, as she told Ray.
“I may not hate the Ewings the same way my daddy does, or my brother for that matter. But to stand face to face with a Ewing, at a Ewing party, I’m sorry but I can’t do that. Jock Ewing might find himself flame grilled.”
But Pamela gave in and decided to go, maybe it was a perverse form of curiosity. Who were these Ewings her daddy had hated so much? She was about to find out.
Pam Meets Bobby
She was dancing with Ray when she first saw Bobby. At six feet two, with warm hazel eyes and jet black hair, he wasn’t hard to notice.
He was there on the sidelines watching her. And then he came over and cut in. Pam forgot Ray, the barbecue, Southfork, everything, the moment this man held her. She looked into those eyes and it was all over. It didn’t matter that this man was a Ewing; he was Bobby and one day he was going to be hers.
Pam’s vision of her wedding had not been a ten-minute service in a New Orleans justice of the peace office with a Southern Baptist minister presiding, but it was a wedding.
Pamela and Bobby Ewing
When she arrived at Southfork, the family was clearly mortified at what Bobby had done, at what he had married. Jock was contemptuous, Miss Ellie cool, J.R. hostile, Sue Ellen as if she didn’t exist, and Lucy! Pam was astounded at the behaviour that little brat got away with. And then, of course, there was Ray to contend with. Silent, sad Ray, standing outside, forever hovering around the house.
But Pamela had Bobby. She had him to wake up with in the morning, she had him in her arms at night, and she had him to make a life with, to make a future. That made everything worth it. Oh, Lord, was there ever trouble, though, in that house.
First off, J.R. accused her of being a spy for her brother, Cliff, who was building a case against Ewing Oil. Bobby vigorously defended her, and the family eventually found out that Pam was innocent. Score one for Pam.
When Pam announced that she was expecting, all the Ewings, except J.R. and Sue Ellen, forgave her for being a Barnes. The family’s joy was terminated, however, when she lost the child, due to a fall from the loft in the barn.
Loss, Recovery, and J.R.
When Pam announced that she was expecting, all the Ewings, except JR and Sue Ellen, forgave her for being a Barnes. The family's joy was terminated, however, when she lost the child, due to a fall from the loft in the barn.
To get her mind off her misfortune, Pam took back her old job with Liz Craig at The Store, and she did extremely well, eventually earning a promotion as a buyer. As Pam was beginning to recover from the trauma, Ed Haynes turned up in Dallas to claim that they were still married and that during the years he was in a POW camp, only Pam's memory had kept him alive. Pam was shocked beyond words and couldn't imagine how this could be happening.
JR gleefully brought the news — that Pamela was a bigamist — to the family dinner table, and though Pam hastened to explain to the Ewings that the marriage had been annulled, the papers testifying to that fact had mysteriously disappeared. Eventually Pam was cleared, and Haynes was found to be a blackmailer. Pamela kept a wary eye on JR after that. His desire to get her out of the family was all too apparent.
Trouble was forever being generated by JR. He openly despised Pam.
Pam thought that was mild compared to the feelings she was developing for him. When her brother was framed by JR for the murder of Julie Grey, Pamela threw in the towel and moved off Southfork. She moved in temporarily with Leanne Rees, one of The Store's models.
What was supposed to be a chance to get her head together turned out to be the most embarrassing incident of her life.
JR vs Pam
One night in her room she woke to find Leanne lying across the bed with a drunken man, both of them in stages of undress. Pam bolted upright and yelled at the two of them, while a photographer snapped away from outside the window the record of the event courtesy of JR The next morning at the Ewing breakfast table, the Dallas Press displayed the not-so-discreet headline: FINANCIER IN LOVE NEST and there, splashed across the front page, was a photograph of Pam in bed with Leanne and Ben Maxwell. Fortunately for Pam, Bobby always believed in her innocence, and this time was no exception. But boy oh boy, it really cinched the saddle on Pam's hatred for JR
Digger's Daughter?
In 1979, Pamela was told by Digger's doctor that Digger was a carrier of neurofibromatosis, and that she and Cliff, as his children, were carriers, It was a disease that could be fatal to infants, and the doctor strongly advised them never to have children. Shortly thereafter, Pam discovered she was pregnant. She was in agony; she couldn't bring herself to tell Bobby. But before she could go ahead with the abortion the doctor recommended, Bobby found out about her pregnancy, and he was so happy, she didn't have the heart to tell him the rest. Then tragedy struck. A rattlesnake scared Pam's horse while she was riding and she was thrown, causing a miscarriage. Later she found out that she was not Digger's daughter and thus was not a carrier of the disease. Then she was told that, after those two miscarriages, she could not bear children. Deeply grieved, Pam tried to push on in life as best as she could. Her career was moving along at The Store-she was handling the spring catalog alone for the first time-but she started losing interest in her work when Sue Ellen and JR brought little John Ross home to Southfork. Sue Ellen, who was in a chronic state of depression, barely acknowledged the child's existence, and JR rarely went within two feet of the child. Pamela , stepped in as if she were his mother-feeding, changing, and playing with him, getting up before the nurse did in the middle of the night when he cried. She soon became obsessed with the child, as a kind of mourning for what she could not have herself.
Pam's boss was suddenly transferred to the Houston store and Pam was promoted to head buyer, which kept her extremely busy. But she still was obsessing over John Ross. Bobby was drifting away from her with the demands of his work.
Goodbye Digger: Hello Rebecca
To top off 1980, Pam watched Digger painfully and slowly die as a result of his years of alcoholism. She was overwhelmed by a sense of loss and her great loneliness pushed her to find out about her mother. She developed a notion-a dream born out of grief-that perhaps her mother wasn't dead after all. Then a private investigator turned up evidence that her mother had not died as Digger had said.
Meanwhile, Bobby had taken over Ewing Oil while JR was convalescing after being shot, and it made Pamela nervous. She watched her husband get deeper and deeper into the heart of the business in an effort to prove himself, and she took note of Bobby's instinctive attraction to power, which she realized might be dangerous to their marriage. Pam knew that their chance of leaving Dallas and JR was over. Now that Bobby had tasted owner he wouldn't be anxious to let go of it.
Pam's private investigator, after following seemingly endless leads, located a woman he believed to be Pam's mother. But instead of the waitress or maid whom Pam had envisioned, the woman was the matron of a fabulously opulent mansion in Houston. Pam approached her, and Rebecca Wentworth flatly denied that she was her mother. She was, she said emphatically, Rebecca Wentworth, and she had never heard of anyone named Digger
Depressed, Pamela pushed on with her work, trying to shut out the pain, the loneliness penetrating her very heart. She met Alex Ward, the millionaire publisher of Dallas World, who fell head over heels in love with her the first time they met. Alex was ardent, persistent, and he was tempting. Bobby at this point had resigned as president of Ewing Oil but had begun and alternative energy company that still took all of his time . He constantly missed dinner dates with Pam, and by the time he got home at night he was either too tired or preoccupied with work to pay any attention to Pamela.
It was difficult to push Alex away, particularly since he had business connections with the Store. But Pam couldn`t bring herself to betray Bobby, and she curtailed any involvement with Alex.
Pam and Rebecca
Then something wonderful happened. Rebecca Wentworth called Pam and asked for a meeting. Rebecca broke down and confessed that, yes, indeed..she was Pammy's mother. To Pam, it meant a confirmation of her identity, which she badly needed. Rebecca arrived at a time when Pam needed family most, when she was trying to come to terms with her past, with her inability to have a child, with her problems fitting into the Ewing family. Rebecca came to cherish her daughter, and soon the past was behind them. They became extraordinarily close in a very short period of time.
Pamela Ewing, Rebecca and Cliff
The baby issue continued to haunt Pam, after the doctors had told her that she could not carry a child past the third month of pregnancy. Despite Bobby's and Rebecca's support, she floundered in depression, without quite being aware of what was happening. She started to drift off at work, her concentration gone, lapsing into short periods of remorse, of some kind of grieving. The depression culminated in near-fatal tragedy: Pam tried to kill herself by jumping off the top of Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas.
Bobby got there in time to stop her, but it was clear that Pam would try again and was in dire need of psychiatric help.
Bobby took her to Brooktree Psychiatric Hospital, where Dr. Dagmara Conrad began intensive therapy with Pam as an inpatient. Pam explained to her that being unable to bear a child made her feel "like nothing matters. Like I'm worthless, empty. Like I'm dying . . . or already dead."
She diagnosed Pam's depression as stemming largely from suppressed anger and elf-hatred. The therapy continued, and little by little Pam came to terms with her problem. As Dr. Danvers explained to Bobby, "Her desperate desire for a child is rooted in her own unhappy childhood. She wants to give a baby the love and attention she feels she missed. That way she thinks she can make things right for baby Pam."
A Sister and a Son
While still in Brooktree, Rebecca brought in Pamela's half sister , Katherine Wentworth, whom she had never met. She was a lovely girl and Pam took to her immediately. Katherine made Pam feel better, more secure; it was a nice feeling, having.more family, and even nicer to have a sister, which she had always wanted.On a surprise visit home to Southfork, Pam walked through the front door and saw Bobby standing there with the most precious little baby boy in his arms. Her heart skipped a beat. She assumed it was a child they could adopt. As she took the little fellow into her arms and looked into his eyes, she felt all the heaviness fall away from her heart. With this son to love and nurture, Pam's emotional recovery was complete within weeks.
In soaring spirits, Pam quickly settled into her life as Christopher's mother, while Bobby continued with the adoption proceedings. She was never happier than in those days, sharing the child with Rebecca, Ellie, Cliff all those who wanted to participate in her joy. When Liz Craig asked her about returning to The Store, Pam said no, explaining that she didn't want to leave her son. Bobby expressed a little concern about what he saw as obsessiveness with her mother role; he reminded her that she herself had always maintained how important working was to her. Pam sidestepped the issue. Then her husband surprised her with a gift of a business, Pam's Aerobics Unlimited, an exercise salon, complete with a day-care room where Christopher could happily be taken care of, right near his mama. Pam thrived, as did the salon. She had always been extraordinarily fit, and she proved to be a terrific instructor and example.
She and Bobby grew closer during this period. Though terribly overworked, and often exhausted, Bobby fought for time to spend with Pam and their son. Pam noticed that he seemed to be under some kind of emotional strain, which he consistently shrugged off when she asked him about it. In May of 1982 Bobby finally told her about Farraday, Kristin Shepard, and the fact that J.R. could be Christopher's father. Pam was shocked that Bobby had kept this news from her all this time, but she didn't hesitate to jump right in and fly to California with him to find out the truth, prepared to fight whoever she had to to keep her son.
The Ewing's formally adopted Christopher in the fall of 1982, and the little Ewing family seemed on good ground. But, alas, the calm was not to last. Pam's brother, Cliff, made a suicide attempt and it revived the Barnes Ewing feud. Now Rebecca was brought into it; she was hell-bent on revenge against J.R. in particular. And the contest between Bobby and J.R. for Ewing Oil compounded the stress. Pam saw that the corporate battle was changing her husband-he was becoming more like J.R. in his tactics-and she didn't like it one bit. As she said, "Power, money, and control mean nothing to me. I want a nice, ordinary life with my husband."
She wanted them to leave Southfork, to leave Texas if they had to, and start life over elsewhere. Bobby refused.
Rebecca’s Farewell
Tension escalated to unbearable proportions when Miss Ellie, in her attempt to break Jock's will and stop the contest that was tearing the family apart, sought support from Pam, who gave it. Bobby was angry with Pam; he sided with JR on the issue. As emotions rose at Southfork, Pam leaned more and more on her mother for support.
And then Rebecca was no longer there. As she was leaving for Houston on business concerning the feud, the Wentworth jet was involved in a midair collision, forcing it to crash-land at Love Field. Critically injured, Rebecca died in Dallas Memorial Hospital. She spent her last minutes alive with Pam at her side, and her last words to her were:
“Cliff's a sweet boy. But—he's not so strong. Look after him, Pammy, please. He needs someone strong. Like you… Keep him safe. Protect him. Promise me you'll protect him… You always were the stronger one. Don't tell him I said so. It'll be our secret.”
Pamela made her promise to her mother and, quietly, Rebecca passed away. Pam was devastated—and angry—if it hadn't been for that infernal contest between Bobby and JR…
She went to her mother's house, where she finally broke down and cried her heart out. When she had calmed down somewhat, she knew she could not go back to Southfork. She decided to take Christopher and move into the Fairview Hotel with her sister, Katherine, and try to get her head straight.
The Wicked Sister
Pam's mother left her 50 percent of all income and voting shares in Wentworth Industries (the other 50 percent went to Katherine), and 33 percent in Wentworth Tool & Die (the other two thirds to Katherine and Cliff). It would be a while before she paid interest in her new status and responsibilities. Thanks to Katherine, and later JR, Pam and Bobby were led into deception after deception about each other, making a reconciliation impossible.
Meanwhile, the wonderful man Pam had met recently, millionaire Mark Graison, persistently appeared on the scene, offering help, love, and encouragement. Pam found herself drawn into a friendship with him, although he clearly wanted more. After an emotionally exhausting confrontation with Bobby at the hotel, Pam expressed a need to get away from all the chaos in Dallas, and Mark offered to fly her to the Riviera on his private jet. At first she was hesitant and said no, but then she thought, why not?
The Divorce
Pamela and Bobby Ewing in Dallas divorce
There, enjoying the sun and the quiet, Pam realized that she was enormously attracted to Mark, but, no matter what, while she was still married to Bobby, she would never sleep with anyone else. That is just her nature.
Then, when she was leaning toward violating her own moral code, Pam received an urgent transatlantic call from Afton Cooper, her brother's girlfriend, who warned her that Katherine was moving in on Bobby. Confused, not sure what it was all supposed to mean, Pam left immediately for Dallas. She confronted Bobby first, then Katherine, and believed them when they said they were merely close friends and that Katherine was working on helping him get a Wentworth Tool & Die drill he desperately needed for his Canadian fields, despite Cliff's veto.
Pam was put in an awkward position. Bobby wanted the Tundra Torque for Ewing Oil, and Cliff did not want him to have it (he wanted to force Bobby to sell the fields to him instead). If Pam sided with Katherine and voted to let him have it, then Bobby would probably win control over Ewing Oil. And that would mean Bobby would go on as he had been recently—tense, a bit ruthless, and never having time for anything but work—leaving few of the qualities that made Pam love him. But if Pam voted with Cliff not to give Bobby the drill, it would mean the end of their marriage for sure. Pam voted with Katherine and hoped for the best.
The best was no alternative, she realized then. Bobby had changed greatly, and there was a no-win label on this marriage. She met with him and said she thought they should be divorced so that she could try to build a new life, since the old one was in such a shambles.
Then the fire at Southfork occurred and Pam backed off the divorce issue to let Bobby have some time to sort out the mess at the house. Before Pam spoke to him again, JR stepped in to say that as long as Pam stayed away from Bobby, JR would leave Bobby alone, but if Pam came back into Bobby's life, then JR would do everything in his power to destroy not only Bobby, but also her brother, Cliff. JR had never made an idle threat in his life, and Pam knew it.
Katherine tricked Pam into signing a paper that made it appear that Pam had written a letter to her lawyer saying she was no longer in love with Bobby. Katherine read Bobby this made-up letter. So when Pam met with Bobby, having decided to ignore JR and reconcile with him, she was speechless with pain when Bobby told her to her face that he was ready to let go, and that it was time for both of them to realize that their marriage was over. Unable to say anything, Pam left.
Pam and Bobby met with their lawyers, and the proceedings began. Pam went to court—Bobby didn't need to appear—and the divorce was granted to the Ewings in the fall of 1983.
Cliff had been pestering Pam to join forces with him and Mark Graison to create a new company. Pam had been slow to agree to the arrangement—her brother was clearly overwhelmed by Mark's money, good breeding, generosity, and kind heart—because she didn't want Cliff taking advantage of him, using the fact that Mark was in love with her as leverage. Mark's love was something she had yet to act on.
Oh, she cared for Mark, but Bobby…
It hurt Pam deeply when she saw Bobby with, of all people, Jenna Wade. It pushed her closer to Mark, and her jealousy and anger the night of Billy Bob's Charity Rodeo pushed her over the edge and into Mark's bed. As the possibility of any reconciliation with Bobby grew more and more remote, Pam began to be more seriously involved with Mark.
Mark asked Pam to marry him. She was caught off guard and said she needed to think about it. Katherine and Cliff jumped all over her, urging her to say yes. Pam told Bobby, who remained silent on the subject. Mark, impatiently waiting for her answer, went on a trip and said he wanted an answer when he returned.
After thinking long and hard about it, after searching her heart, Pam confided to Sue Ellen that she was going to turn Mark down. Sue Ellen asked her if it was because of Bobby, and Pam admitted it was.
And then the world turned upside down. Pam accidentally met Mark's doctor and good friend, Jerry Kenderson, who had been searching frantically for Mark. When Pam pressured him, the doctor reluctantly revealed that he had to tell Mark he had leukemia, that it was hopeless, and that he would have, at best, a year to live. Pam pleaded with the doctor to postpone telling Mark, which he agreed to. And so, when Mark arrived home to Dallas, Pam told him, yes, she would marry him.
The ensuing weeks were sheer agony for Pam. Mark's love for her, his bright banter about their future together, all the things they would do, the home they would create, made her ache inside, as she knew he would never live to see any of it.
Pam wanted to be married right away and have a small wedding, but Mark kept insisting on a big wedding, which would take more time to organize. Pam succeeded in keeping the doctor at bay for a little longer. Pam also had to tell Bobby that she would be marrying Mark, with no mention of why.
One night Mark was called to the Oil Baron's Club to pick up a completely smashed Katherine, who in her stupor told Mark the only reason he was getting married was because of Dr. Kenderson. She passed out then and, when she came to, Mark pressed her for an explanation. She tried to cover, but Mark was suspicious and went to Kenderson for an explanation. He got it.
Pam, not knowing that Mark now knew, spent one last loving, beautiful night with him. The next day she received the horrible news—Mark had flown his plane out over the Gulf and had blown it up. He was gone forever, unable to face being an invalid, a burden to those he loved.
The letter he left behind said, in part:
“Pam, I realize now why, after so long, you suddenly wanted such a quick wedding. You wanted to make sure I wouldn't be alone at the end. Knowing that means more than I can tell you. You're a wonderful and beautiful woman, Pam. This past year has been the best in my life, and I'm deeply grateful for the happiness you gave me. I only regret I had so little time to it. But you'll find happiness again. Maybe it'll be with Bobby. I think you will care for each other.”
But that would not be possible, for Bobby was marrying Jenna.
In 1984, Pam was led to believe that Mark had not died, but had only appeared to die and, in fact, was secretly going from clinic to clinic worldwide in search of a cure for his disease. Pam's desperate search for him was led by a pilot who said he had flown Graison to the Caribbean. Later, after exhaustive inquiries and expense and a trail that was going to take her to Hong Kong, the pilot broke down and confessed that JR had paid him to make her believe that Graison was still alive. He wanted to keep her from Bobby.
The Reunion
As Pamela came to terms with life without Mark, Bobby's life was in turmoil. Jenna Wade had left him standing at the altar and was then imprisoned for murdering her ex-husband, Naldo Marchetta. Bobby believed in her innocence and fought tooth and nail to get her free.
During this time Pam and Bobby grew closer and spent evenings reminiscing about the good old days. But Bobby, being Bobby, would have to stand by Jenna, and Pam knew this. She still loved Bobby desperately but in her heart believed that they would never be together.
Then Jenna was released from prison and Pam thought that any hope of a reconciliation was out of the window.
But then one night Bobby turned up at Pam's house. He told her that Lucy had got married again that day to Mitch Cooper again, and when Lucy mentioned that he and Jenna would be next, Jenna saw the look on Bobby's face as it dawned on her that Bobby was still in love with Pamela.
Bobby asked Pam to marry him again and the couple’s deepest wish came true as Pam agreed.
The couple were married again and she moved back to Southfork to the joy of most of the Ewing family, apart from JR, of course.
Bobby's Baby
On the day of their wedding Bobby and Pam found out that Jenna was pregnant with Bobby's child. Pamela was deeply hurt by this, not only was this a reminder of Bobby's relationship with Jenna but also the pain of Pam being unable to bear a child of her own.
But the couple stayed strong and managed to get over this period. Then Jenna gave birth to a baby boy and Pam got used to the idea that Bobby had another son.
Tragedy Strikes
Pamela went to the doctor and had tests; she wanted another child desperately. The doctor said there may be a way due to advances in that field and told Pam to come back later.
The next morning in bed Pamela was confronted at Southfork by her son Christopher asking questions about his adoption.
Pam told him that she loved him very much and would never leave him. No one could replace Christopher in Pam's life; she loved him with every inch of her soul.
Pam went to the doctor again and was told that she could now carry a baby to full term. Pam's dearest wish had come true. On her way back she rang Bobby on her car phone to tell him the good news. In her excitement she didn't pay attention to the road and she crashed into a tanker.
Pam was rushed to Dallas Memorial Hospital where she was suffering from massive third-degree burns. Wrapped in bandages and unable to speak, she lay for weeks in the hospital. When the bandages were removed Pam couldn't stand the pain and heartache and left Dallas, asking Bobby never to look for her. She asked for a divorce, leaving Bobby and Christopher alone.
Pam's Final Hour
After a year away from her family Pamela was spotted by Jordan Lee and she was confronted by her brother Cliff.
She told Cliff that she was never coming back to Dallas, that she had a new life and that she was in love with her doctor. She told him to leave and never come back.
When he was gone, a grief-filled Pam revealed that she had lied and, in fact, she was dying with only a few months to live and she didn't want the people she loved to watch her die.
Pamela Ewing – 2012
In 2012 Pamela Barnes Ewing’s fate is revisited for the first time in decades. Christopher Ewing grows increasingly suspicious that his mother is still alive following her disappearance in 1987. His doubts lead him to uncover a devastating truth: Pamela was dead.
It is revealed that Cliff Barnes had kept the truth of Pamela’s death hidden, manipulating events to maintain control of her Wentworth shares and protect his own financial interests. Christopher learns that his mother did survive the accident for a time, but ultimately passed away later, alone and separated from the family she loved.
The revelation casts a long shadow over the Barnes–Ewing feud and reopens emotional wounds for Christopher, who must come to terms not only with the loss of his mother, but with the knowledge that her fate was concealed from him for years.
Pamela’s story, once thought closed, ends not with certainty, but with sorrow — a woman whose life was defined by love, sacrifice, and loss, even beyond the grave.
Pamela Barnes Ewing – Frequently Asked Questions
Who played Pamela Barnes Ewing on Dallas?
Pamela Barnes Ewing was portrayed by actress Victoria Principal. She starred on Dallas from the 1978 premiere until 1987, becoming one of the show's most recognizable and beloved stars.
Why did Victoria Principal leave Dallas?
Victoria Principal chose to leave Dallas in 1987 after nearly a decade on the series. She wanted to pursue other acting opportunities and focus on her growing business ventures, later building a highly successful skincare company.
What happened to Pamela Ewing in Dallas?
Pamela was severely injured in a devastating car crash and suffered extensive burns. She was taken to a specialist clinic, but when Bobby later went to see her, a different woman appeared claiming to be Pamela after reconstructive surgery. Bobby refused to believe it, and Pamela ultimately disappeared from his life.
Did Pamela and Bobby get back together?
Pamela and Bobby remarried in 1986 but ended in divorce following Pam's car accident. Their relationship is remembered as one of television's great tragic love stories, shaped by family feuds, loss, and circumstances beyond their control.
Is Pamela Ewing mentioned in the Dallas revival?
Yes. In the 2012 revival of Dallas, Christopher Ewing reveals that he believes his adoptive mother Pamela is still alive. It is also disclosed that Cliff Barnes concealed the truth about her fate in order to gain control of her Ewing Oil shares.
Did Pamela Barnes come from the rival Barnes family?
She did. Pamela was the daughter of Willard “Digger” Barnes, the longtime enemy of Jock Ewing. Her marriage to Bobby symbolized hope that the bitter Barnes–Ewing feud might finally end.
Was Pamela Ewing killed off Dallas?
In the original series Pamela was never explicitly killed off. Instead, her fate was left intentionally ambiguous, adding to the enduring mystery surrounding the character. But in the 2012 return it was confirmed she had died from cancer in 1989.
Why is Pamela Ewing such an important Dallas character?
Pamela served as the emotional bridge between the Barnes and Ewing dynasties. Her compassion, strength, and moral clarity often stood in contrast to the ruthless world of oil and power that surrounded her.