Biography.guide
Home › People › Actor › Pamela Reed
Portrait of Pamela Reed

Pamela Reed

b. 1949

American actress

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Pamela Reed

Born 1949. Pamela Reed is an American actor, stage actor, television actor and film actor.

Pamela Reed is an American actress. She is known for playing Arnold Schwarzenegger's police partner Phoebe O'Hara in the 1990 film Kindergarten Cop and portraying the matriarch Gail Green in Jericho. She appeared as Marlene Griggs-Knope on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, as well as the exasperated wife Alison Langley in Bean.

Early life and education Reed received her B.F.A. at the University of Washington.

Career Reed earned a Drama Desk Award for the off-Broadway play Getting Out and an Obie Award for "sustaining excellence in performance in theater". She was a regular in the cast of the 1977 CBS drama The Andros Targets. She had minor film and television work in the 1980s. She won a CableAce Award for Best Actress for the HBO series Tanner '88 (1988). She also co-starred with Daryl Hannah in the film .

Her notable film roles include The Long Riders (1980), The Right Stuff (1983), The Best of Times (1986), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Deadly Whispers (1995), Bean (1997) and Proof of Life (2001).

Reed played Janice Pasetti in the quirky NBC sitcom Grand, and then played a judge and single mother in the short-lived NBC sitcom The Home Court.

In 2005 Reed portrayed executive producer Esther Shapiro in Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure, a fictionalized television movie based on the creation and behind-the-scenes production of the 1980s prime-time soap opera Dynasty.

Reed has also worked for Storyline Online, reading Stellaluna.

Personal life Reed met Sandy Smolan when he directed her in Rachel River. They married in 1988 and have two adopted children, Reed and Lily.

Filmography

Film

Television

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
University of Washington

Family & relationships

Spouse
Sandy Smolan

People in Pamela Reed's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Pamela Reed's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Pamela Reed?

American actress

When was Pamela Reed born?

Pamela Reed was born on 2 April 1949 in Tacoma.

What is Pamela Reed's occupation?

Pamela Reed is an actor, stage actor, television actor and film actor.

What nationality is Pamela Reed?

Pamela Reed is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Pamela Reed

· Wikidata: Q271763

· DBpedia: Pamela Reed

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Pamela Reed. https://biography.guide/pamela-reed/

MLA: "Pamela Reed." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/pamela-reed/.

Chicago: "Pamela Reed." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/pamela-reed/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

Page generated 2026-09-27 04:59 UTC