Pamela Reed was born April 2, 1949 in Tacoma, Washington. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington.

The pretty, intense actress is equally adept in comedic and dramatic roles. A classically trained actress, Reed began her career on the New York stage making her off-Broadway debut in "Curse of the Starving Class" and working in several New York Shakespeare productions, among them "All's Well That Ends Well" in Central Park and "Aunt Dan and Lemon" at The Public. She first appeared on Broadway in "The November People" (1978) and made her screen debut two years later, playing Belle Starr in Walter Hill's stylish western, "The Long Riders".

Supporting roles followed including an effective performance as wife of astronaut Gordon Cooper (Dennis Quaid) in Philip Kaufman's "The Right Stuff" (1983).

Reed continued to work in films appearing as Robin Williams' ex-wife in "Cadillac Man" (1990) but her comedic skills came to the fore and to the attention of a wider public when she co-starred as Arnold Schwarzenegger's partner in "Kindergarten Cop" (1990). Reed was also seen in Tim Robbins' satiric take on American politics "Bob Roberts" (1992) and again co-starred with Schwarzenegger and Danny De Vito in the medical comedy "Junior" (1994) as De Vito's pregnant ex-wife.