'Dallas' Actress Priscilla Pointer Dead at 100 — Steven Spielberg's Ex-Wife Amy Irving Cries Her Mother 'Will Definitely Be Missed' In Heartbreaking Tribute
Priscilla Pointer found fame on 'Dallas.'
April 29 2025, Published 5:23 p.m. ET
Dallas star Priscilla Pointer, who played Rebecca Barnes Wentworth, mother of one of the two feuding families on the 1980s soap opera, has died at age 100, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Her passing was announced Tuesday by her daughter, actress Amy Irving, who was married to Steven Spielberg from 1985 to 1989.
Pointer played Rebecca Barnes Wentworth on the 80s soap opera.
Irving, 71, broke the news in a touching tribute on Instagram.
Next to a carousel of photos of her mother, she shared: "Priscilla Pointer, acclaimed stage television and film actress, and mother of David, Katie, and Amy Irving, died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 100, hopefully to run off with her 2 adoring husbands and her many dogs.
"She most definitely will be missed."
Pointer died Monday at an assisted living facility in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
The star proved art imitates life when she played Irving’s mom on-screen in Carrie. The mother-daughter duo would go on and appear in six other movies together.
Pointer was born in New York on May 18, 1924. By the 1940s she was already an accomplished stage actress.
She left acting for several years to raise her three children David, 75, Katie, 74, and Amy, 71, whom she had with her first husband, filmmaker Jules Irving, who also served as the artistic director of Lincoln Center.
The accomplished actress made a career out of playing a "mom," including portraying Diane Keaton's mom in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Sean Penn's in The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) and Kyle MacLachlan's in Blue Velvet (1986).
On Dallas, she playued an oil tycoon's wife who turns out to be the long-lost mother of Cliff (Ken Kercheval) and Pam (Victoria Principal) Barnes.
Sadly, her time in Texas ended during the show's sixth season in 1983, when her character was killed after the Wentworth family jet crashed into another plane in mid-air.
Irving shared a tribute to her mom.
Beyond motherhood, Pointer appeared in big screen movies including A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Twilight Zone: The Movie and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.
Television credits included stints on ER, Judging Amy, St. Elsewhere and The Rockford Files.
Fans shared their sympathy on Irving's Instagram post.
"So sad to hear. She will be remembered and missed – and live on in all the films she graced with her wonderful talents," one person said.
Another added: "I send you all my love and support. Your mom always will be one of a kind. May she rest in peace," as a third echoed, "What a life, what a career, what contributions she made. May her memory be a blessing."
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Irving first met Spielberg when she auditioned for his hit film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
While she was too young for the part, she still caught the director's eye – and the pair began dating, with Irving eventually moving into Spielberg's home.
While their marriage only lasted four years, Irving continued to live close to Spielberg so they could co-parent their son Max together under their shared custody agreement.
She was also awarded $100million in their divorce, after a judge vacated their prenuptial agreement because it was scribbled on a napkin without an attorney present.
"I don't know how long I was married to (Spielberg). But we were together for 14 years – with three years off for good behavior," she once recalled. "I ran away for a little while, and then we got back together."
