# Pamela Stephenson
**Pamela Stephenson** (Pamela Helen Stephenson, now Pamela Stephenson Connolly) is a New Zealand-born actress, comedian, and clinical psychologist who first became famous on the British satirical sketch show *Not the Nine O'Clock News* and later retrained as a psychologist and bestselling author. She was born in 1949 in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand, and grew up in Australia.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298/bio/) • [2](https://www.biogs.com/strictlycomedancing/stephenson.html) One reference work gives her birth year as 1950, while IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and other sources give 1949.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949, Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand; one reference work gives 1950[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298/bio/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) |
| Signature role | Cast member of *Not the Nine O'Clock News*, 1979–1982, alongside Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, and Griff Rhys Jones[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) |
| Film roles | Mademoiselle Rimbaud in *History of the World: Part I* (1981); Lorelei in *Superman III* (1983); *Scandalous* (1984); *Bloodbath at the House of Death* (1984)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/pamela_stephenson) |
| American television | Cast member of *Saturday Night Live*, 1984–85[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) |
| Marriage | Married comedian Billy Connolly on 20 December 1989; three children, Daisy, Amy, and Scarlett[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) |
| Psychology career | Doctorate in clinical psychology awarded 1996; psychotherapy practice in Beverly Hills established 1994, specializing in sex therapy[2](https://www.biogs.com/strictlycomedancing/stephenson.html) • [6](https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/pamela-stephenson-connolly) |
| Writing | *Billy* (2001), a biography of her husband, won the W. H. Smith Book Award for best biography in 2002; later books include *Head Case* and *Sex Life*[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) • [6](https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/pamela-stephenson-connolly) |
## Early life and training
Stephenson was one of three sisters born in a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, and was raised in Australia.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298) • [2](https://www.biogs.com/strictlycomedancing/stephenson.html) She contracted polio as a child and was sent to ballet classes at age 5 to strengthen her limbs.[2](https://www.biogs.com/strictlycomedancing/stephenson.html) She studied briefly at the [University of New South Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-new-south-wales) before transferring to the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, graduating in 1971 with [Bachelor of Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/bachelor-of-arts) equivalency.[7](https://www.gavinbarkerassociates.co.uk/females/pamela-stephenson) In Australian theater she played leading roles with the [Sydney Theatre Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-theatre-company), including *Threepenny Opera*, *Peer Gynt*, and Edward Bond's *Lear*.[7](https://www.gavinbarkerassociates.co.uk/females/pamela-stephenson)
She began appearing on television by 1972 and starred as Julie King on the Australian series *Ryan* in 1973–74.[8](https://prabook.com/web/pamela.stephenson/724571) After leaving Australia in 1975 and some months of travel, she settled in London and arrived in Britain in 1976.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) • [7](https://www.gavinbarkerassociates.co.uk/females/pamela-stephenson)
## Not the Nine O'Clock News and comedy fame
Her breakthrough came in 1979 when producer John Lloyd, having heard her telling funny stories at a dinner party, signed her for the BBC sketch show *Not the Nine O'Clock News*, where she appeared regularly from 1979 to 1982 with [Rowan Atkinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rowan-atkinson), Mel Smith, and [Griff Rhys Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/griff-rhys-jones).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) The show ran for 28 episodes over four series, and over 17 million viewers tuned in across its run.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298) • [9](https://www.radio-lists.org.uk/r4/R4_2023_0819-0825_3columns_6pt_18pages.pdf) She became known for her impersonations, with a range that included [Barbra Streisand](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbra-streisand), Margaret Thatcher, and Amy Carter; her agent's profile adds impressions of Angela Rippon, Jan Leeming, Kate Bush, and Janet Street-Porter.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) • [7](https://www.gavinbarkerassociates.co.uk/females/pamela-stephenson) She also performed briefly as a stand-up comedian at the Comic Strip, a London club.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950)
She met [Billy Connolly](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-connolly) in 1979, the year the show began.[10](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/stand-up-and-be-analysed-1.607201) In the 1987 United Kingdom general election she stood in the Windsor and [Maidenhead](https://www.edgepedia.org/maidenhead) constituency for the satirical "Stuff Pink Blancmange down Terry Wogan's Trousers Party" and came sixth with 328 votes.[8](https://prabook.com/web/pamela.stephenson/724571)
## Film and American television
Her film work ran through the 1980s. She appeared in [Mel Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-brooks)'s *History of the World: Part I* (1981) as Mademoiselle Rimbaud, in *The Secret Policeman's Other Ball* (1982) with Rowan Atkinson, and in [Richard Lester](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-lester)'s *Superman III* (1983) as Lorelei, Christopher Reeve's character's romantic interest.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/pamela_stephenson) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) Later films included *Bloodbath at the House of Death* (1984), *Scandalous* (1984) with [Robert Hays](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-hays), *Those Dear Departed* (1987), and *Les Patterson Saves the World* (1990) starring Barry Humphries.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/pamela_stephenson) On the London stage in 1982 she played Mabel in the Joseph Papp production of *The Pirates of Penzance*, opposite Tim Curry as the Pirate King.[11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298/otherworks/)
In 1984 she joined the American cast of *Saturday Night Live* for the 1984–85 season, a tenure she later described as difficult; she recalled having to work hard to catch up on American references, and noted that [Larry David](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-david), then a writer on the show, produced only one script that made it to air that season.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) • [10](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/stand-up-and-be-analysed-1.607201)
## Move to psychology
After marrying Billy Connolly on 20 December 1989 and relocating with their young family to Los Angeles, where Connolly had signed an eight-year television contract with Warner Brothers, she decided on a career change.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) • [10](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/stand-up-and-be-analysed-1.607201) She has said that comedy and psychology are both about examining human behavior, and that she had grown tired of performing comedy.[10](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/stand-up-and-be-analysed-1.607201) It took five years of study to qualify as a psychologist, and she was awarded a doctorate in clinical psychology in 1996.[10](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/stand-up-and-be-analysed-1.607201) • [2](https://www.biogs.com/strictlycomedancing/stephenson.html) She established a psychotherapy practice in Beverly Hills in 1994, specializing in sex therapy, and taught Human Sexuality and Sex Therapy as an adjunct professor at the California Graduate Institute for five years.[6](https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/pamela-stephenson-connolly)
She brought the new profession back to television with *Shrink Rap*, a celebrity interview show on which she used therapy techniques with guests including [Robin Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-williams), Stephen Fry, Sharon Osbourne, the Duchess of York, Salman Rushdie, and Connolly himself.[12](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/pamelas-back-on-tv-and-asking-other-people-about-their-sex-lives-7175116.html) • [13](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pamela_stephenson) Since 2007 she has written a weekly "Sexual Healing" advice column for *The Guardian*.[6](https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/pamela-stephenson-connolly)
## Writing and later work
Her biography of her husband, *Billy*, published by [HarperCollins](https://www.edgepedia.org/harpercollins) in 2001, became a bestseller and won the W. H. Smith Book Award for best biography in 2002; she revealed publicly for the first time the abuse Connolly suffered from his father.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950) • [2](https://www.biogs.com/strictlycomedancing/stephenson.html) She followed it with *Bravemouth*, the mental-health guide *Head Case: Treat Yourself to Better Mental Health* (2009), *Sex Life: How Our Sexual Encounters and Experiences Define Who We Are* (2011), and *Treasure Islands*, an account of a sailing adventure following [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-louis-stevenson)'s route.[13](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pamela_stephenson) • [6](https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/pamela-stephenson-connolly)
In 2010 she competed in the eighth series of *Strictly Come Dancing*, paired with James Jordan, and reached the final, finishing third.[2](https://www.biogs.com/strictlycomedancing/stephenson.html) In 2014 she wrote and produced *Brazouka*, a dance-drama stage production based on the life of Brazilian dancer Braz Dos Santos.[13](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pamela_stephenson) Her academic work has included cross-cultural research into the lives of transgender people in Samoa, Tonga, and India.[13](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pamela_stephenson) She holds an honorary degree from Robert Gordon University for services to human sexuality.[14](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/31/germaine-greer-pamela-stephenson-strictly)
## References
1. [Pamela Stephenson – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298/bio/)
2. [Pamela Connolly biography, Biogs](https://www.biogs.com/strictlycomedancing/stephenson.html)
3. [Stephenson, Pamela 1950–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/stephenson-pamela-1950)
4. [Pamela Stephenson, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298)
5. [Pamela Stephenson, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/pamela_stephenson)
6. [Pamela Stephenson-Connolly, Penguin Books Australia](https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/pamela-stephenson-connolly)
7. [Pamela Stephenson, Gavin Barker Associates](https://www.gavinbarkerassociates.co.uk/females/pamela-stephenson)
8. [Pamela Stephenson, Prabook](https://prabook.com/web/pamela.stephenson/724571)
9. [Radio 4 Listings, 19–25 August 2023](https://www.radio-lists.org.uk/r4/R4_2023_0819-0825_3columns_6pt_18pages.pdf)
10. [Stand Up and Be Analysed, The Irish Times, 25 June 2011](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/stand-up-and-be-analysed-1.607201)
11. [Pamela Stephenson – Other works, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827298/otherworks/)
12. [Pamela's back on TV – and asking other people about their sex lives, London Evening Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/pamelas-back-on-tv-and-asking-other-people-about-their-sex-lives-7175116.html)
13. [Pamela Stephenson, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pamela_stephenson)
14. [I knew Pamela Stephenson when she was Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, The Guardian, 31 October 2010](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/31/germaine-greer-pamela-stephenson-strictly)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › New Zealand actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license