CNN —
Priscilla Pointer, the actress best known for playing formidable mothers in “Dallas” and “Carrie,” has died at age 100.
Pointer’s daughter, the Oscar-nominated actress Amy Irving, announced her death Tuesday on Instagram, writing that she had “died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 100, hopefully to run off with her 2 adoring husbands and her many dogs.”
Irving, who was married to famed director Steven Spielberg from 1985 until 1989, added: “She most definitely will be missed.”
With a screen career that spanned six decades, Pointer was a familiar face in both television and film. In “Dallas,” she portrayed the wealthy and enigmatic Rebecca Barnes Wentworth until her character’s dramatic exit in a midair plane collision during the show’s sixth season.
In the 1976 horror classic “Carrie,” Pointer played the mother of Sue Snell — a high school student portrayed by her real-life daughter Amy in her film debut. The casting became the first of several collaborations between the two. Pointer played Irving’s on-screen mother in “Honeysuckle Rose” (1980) and “Acts of Love” (1996), and they both appeared in “The Competition” (1980) and “Micki & Maude” (1984).
Pointer’s film credits include “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” (1977) and “Blue Velvet” (1986).
She also appeared in several independent projects, directed by her son, David Irving. On television, she guest-starred in a wide range of shows from “The Rockford Files” to “Judging Amy,” and had a recurring role on “L.A. Law.”
Born in New York City on May 18, 1924, Pointer trained in theater and appeared in multiple Broadway and touring productions. Many of her early stage credits came under the direction of her husband Jules Irving, a former actor and theater director, whom she married in 1947 and with whom she had three children before his death in 1979. Together, they co-founded the San Francisco Actor’s Workshop.
Pointer died Monday at an assisted living facility in Ridgefield, Connecticut, David Irving told The Hollywood Reporter.
Her final acting credit was a voice role in the 2008 television movie “Sweet Nothing in My Ear.”
Pointer, who celebrated her 100th birthday last May, is survived by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, including actor Gabriel Barreto, who posted a tribute to his grandmother on X Tuesday.
“She was a wonderful mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and a true gift to the craft of acting,” he said. “She will be missed by so many.”
