Pretty but not strikingly so, this subtle, stage-trained actress has contorted her everywoman looks to fit myriad characters, from suburban moms to determined detectives to driven professionals. After earning accolades for her New York stage work, Reed made a memorable film debut as infamous Old West outlaw Belle Starr in 1980's
The Long Riders. She spent the rest of the decade portraying disparate characters on the big and the small screens, making her biggest impressions as Arnold Schwarzenegger's flu-stricken partner in
Kindergarten Cop and winning a CableACE Award for her portrayal of a tireless political campaign manager in the miniseries
Tanner '88. As she aged, Reed landed fewer feature-film parts and turned to TV for opportunities, including a slew of guest spots and a handful of short-lived series.
Pamela Reed Fast Facts:
- Wanted to be a flight attendant as a child.
- Helped pay for college by working as a cook's helper on the Alaska pipeline, north of the Arctic Circle.
- In 1979 won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in Marsha Norman's Getting Out; received an OBIE Award in 1984 for "sustained excellence of performance" in theater.
- Future husband, Sandy Smolan, directed her in the 1987 feature Rachel River.
- Pamela Reed Relationships:
- Lily Smolan - Daughter
- Norine Geistle - Mother
- Reed Michael Smolan - Son
- W. Vernie Reed - Father
- Sandy Smolan - Husband
- College:
- Attended University of Maryland, College Park, MD; attended Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA; University of Washington, Seattle, WA (BFA in Drama, 1975)
