She played such a crazy character, but you just had to love her! Pamela Springsteen was born in New Jersey in February 1962. As the sister of rock legend Bruce Springsteen, it wasn’t long until she found herself facing the limelight of the entertainment industry. Her short-lived acting career began in 1982 with two guest appearances on “The Facts of Life” and “Cagney and Lacey,” followed by a small role in her first movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. She would continue to build her resume with small roles in dramas such as My Mother’s Secret Life and Reckless in 1985 before she received her first cameo in a scifi flick with My Science Project.
Also in 1985 Pamela returned to television with a guest spot on “Family Ties.” By then, casting directors were starting to take notice of her skill and unique look and she began booking supporting roles in features including comedy’s Modern Girls (1986), drama Scenes from the Goldmine (1987) and Dixie Lane (1988) with Karen Black. 1988 would become her breakout year – and the beginning of the end – as Springsteen would become the second actress to play the villainous slasher Angela Baker in Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers and its 1989 sequel, Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland. Some of her archive footage was even used in the next sequel in 1992, Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor, which sat unfinished until 2012.
Her last on screen role was a lead role in comedy’s The Gumshoe Kid in 1990.
So, where is Pamela Springsteen now?
She retired from acting in 1991 to pursue her career and lifelong dream of being a world renouned photographer. And you know what, she succeeded in this venture! She’s taken portraits, headshots and worked on album covers for celebrities including Keith Richards, Ice Cube, Melissa Etheridge, Olivia Newton-John, Bryan White, Dolly Parton, Bill Maher, Tom Hanks, Robert Downey Jr., Larry David and Montel Williams.
She works in film occasionally, too, even going as far as to direct the music video for Kim Richey’s 1995 single, “Those Words We Said,” which hit #59 on Billboard Country. She was also a photo consultant on horror film The Devil’s Child in 1997 and has worked as a still photographer ever since in titles such as The Price of a Broken Heart (1999), Jack the Dog (2001), Dancing at the Harvest Moon (2002), Manhood (2003) and scifi’s Nanoblood (2015).
While I’m happy that Springsteen has found success doing something she truly loves, let’s hope she laces up those acting shoes one day in the future!
“…world renounced photographer.” Don’t you mean “renowned”?