Biography

Pamela Donnelly grew up in Manassas, Virginia and worked as a model in Milan and New York City before becoming an actress. She was discovered by David Guc, her first acting agent, in 1982 and was quickly hired into a succession of popular roles on daytime television, including The Edge of Night, One Life to Live, and culminating with All My Children (1970) in 1987. She worked as Feature Editor for Hit Parader Magazine from 1989-1992 and combined her affinity for classic rock music and writing in traveling all over the world to interview and write about bands including Van Halen, Aerosmith, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Def Leppard. She appeared as an actress in music videos, including KISS. After her 1993 divorce from Tommy Shaw, guitarist for the rock band Styx, she went back to college and graduated Summa Cum Laude from NYC's Columbia University. She became a teacher and college admissions counselor after relocating back to the D.C. area in the late 90s, but kept her love of performance alive by producing, writing and performing in a series of successful plays and musicals, including "An American Song" (musical), "The Angel Sings at Midnight" (musical), and "Open Me Carefully" (drama). Pamela has appeared in numerous national and international commercials, industrials, voice-overs, films and television shows. She relocated to Los Angeles in summer 2007, and established two businesses -- Valley Prep Tutoring Services and GATE College System. Her first book, SWAT Team Tactics for Getting Your Teen Into College, went to #1 on the Amazon best-seller list in Education. Since the release of her second book, 4 Keys to College Admissions Success, Pamela has been featured in Time Magazine, The New York Times, NBC, ABC, CNN and more as a national media expert in college admissions. Her love of performance is now channeled toward her mission to equalize access to higher education--her GATE College System digital platform features Pamela on-camera helping teens and parents navigate the often-confusing world of college admissions.
- IMDb mini biography by: Pamela Donnelly

She is the mother of the only child of Tommy Shaw, Hannah Shaw (b. 7/9/87).

She is an English and Drama teacher in Manassas, Va.