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Victoria Principal credits Dallas for much of the success she has achieved as a businesswoman

By Nina Steele 

Victoria PrincipalI will always remember Dallas with fondness. It was groundbreaking TV at the time. I remember the streets of my neighbourhood being completely empty 9pm on Friday nights, the time when the show aired. The show may have premiered in 1978, but as is often the case, we in the Ivory Coast got the chance to watch it years later. And Victoria Principal, who has no children, was, along with Patrick Duffy, the people’s favourites.

Looking back, I still cannot believe that a TV show could have such power, but it did. Of course, this is partly to do with the fact that unlike today, TV was the main option for families when it came to entertainment. Today, with the Internet occupying such a major place in our lives, I doubt that the show would have achieved the same global success. This does not take away the fact that it was a great show. The shenanigans of the Ewing family would not be out of place in today’s world. The rivalries and overall bad behaviours were a precursor for the reality TV shows that populate TV stations across the globe today.

Leaving Dallas after 9 seasons in 1987 did not stop Victoria Principal’s star from rising, on the contrary. With her Dallas fame and money, the former actress, now aged 69, reinvented herself as a businesswoman, with a personal wealth estimated to be around $250 million. Of the impact of Dallas on her life she said: “I have never forgotten that Dallas gave me the springboard to achieve so many of my dreams”.

Her business empire includes her hugely successful skincare company, Principal Secret. The company was set up in 1991, and is said to have had “revenue of more than $1.5 billion to date”. Even before setting up her company, she was already a best-selling author, with her first book published in 1983. To date, she has published a total of 4 books, with a 5th book soon to be released.

Acting may have been the craft that first brought her to public attention, but it’s now firmly in her past. Indeed, she quit acting in 2001. Of that she said: “By the time I turned 50 I felt that I wanted to make a change in my life”. Today, on top of being a successful businesswoman, she is also a known philanthropist, with a passion for animals. She said in a 2018 interview with TV Insider: “I rescue and rehabilitate animals that have been neglected and abused. They need medical care, patience and love to recover physically, emotionally and in spirit”. She goes on to say: “It’s something that fills me with joy every day”.

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