Priscilla Pointer, a veteran actress of stage, screen, and television and co-founder of the San Francisco Actor’s Workshop, has died at the age of 100. According to her family, she passed away peacefully in her sleep on Monday.
According to Deadline, she had a career spanning more than 80 years, Pointer was best known for portraying strong maternal figures—often alongside her real-life daughter, actress Amy Irving. Her memorable performances include roles in Carrie, Blue Velvet, The Onion Field, The Falcon and the Snowman, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and the hit TV series Dallas.
Priscilla Pointer (May 18, 1924 – April 28, 2025) was an esteemed American actress whose career spanned over eight decades across theater, film, and television. Born in New York City to artist parents Augusta Leonora Davis and Kenneth Keith Pointer, she began her acting journey in the late 1940s, performing in Broadway productions such as A Streetcar Named Desire and The Country Wife.
In the early 1950s, Pointer transitioned to television, appearing in series like China Smith. After a hiatus to focus on family, she returned to acting in the 1970s, gaining recognition for her role as Adrienne Harris Rainey on the soap opera Where the Heart Is.
Pointer’s film career was marked by memorable maternal roles. She portrayed Amy Irving’s mother in Carrie (1976) and appeared in films such as Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Onion Field (1979), Mommie Dearest (1981), The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), and Blue Velvet (1986). On television, she was known for her role as Rebecca Barnes Wentworth in the series Dallas from 1981 to 1983.Pointer frequently collaborated with her family, acting alongside her daughter Amy Irving in several films and working under the direction of her son David Irving in projects like Rumpelstiltskin (1987). She co-founded the San Francisco Actor’s Workshop with her first husband, Jules Irving, and later married actor Robert Symonds.
Her final television appearance was in Cold Case (2006), and her last film role was in The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999). Pointer passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of 100 in Ridgefield, Connecticut. She is survived by her three children: David, Katie, and Amy Irving.
