ACTOR
Betsy Palmer
6 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
6 Interesting Facts About Betsy Palmer
Interesting Facts (4)
- #001
Betsy Palmer lived with James Dean for eight months.
- #002
Betsy Palmer stated that she would never have played the role of Mrs. Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980) if she had not desperately needed a new car.
- #003
On May 13 and 14, 2005, Betsy Palmer attended the 25th anniversary "Friday the 13th" reunion at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Los Angeles, CA, wearing her signature Mrs. Voorhees sweater.
- #004
Before becoming a successful actress, Betsy Palmer worked in the secretarial pool at WGN-TV in Chicago.
Characters & Cast (1)
- #005
Betsy Palmer won the lead role of Mrs. Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980) while she was on Broadway, and she played it for 1 1/2 years. While living in Connecticut, she performed in the play 'Same Time, Next Year.' After that evening's performance, her car was hit while she was driving in Connecticut.
Life & Family (1)
- #006
Like many young women of her generation, Palmer could not afford to go to college, so she learned to be a stenographer.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work