Charlene Tilton, 65, was the cute blonde bombshell on Dallas and she still looks young - see her now

Charlene Tilton was nan bouncy blonde beauty connected nan deed TV bid Dallas astir nan booming lipid business successful 1980s Texas.

The perky confederate princess was nan activity of caller aerial arsenic she worked pinch Linda Gray's angry Sue Ellen Ewing and Victoria Principal's steely Pamela Barnes Ewing.

And nan San Diego, California native, who is now 65-years-old, still looks unthinkable pinch her flaxen hairsbreadth and winning smile.

The character was seen past week astatine nan Southfork Experience, a instrumentality arena held successful Parker, Texas.

And she looks youthful moreover successful her 60s. 

Charlene is champion known for her activity arsenic nan young naïve sweetheart connected nan lipid baron saga Dallas.

But she acted successful respective different high-profile projects.

Tilton had early roles connected specified tv bid specified Happy Days and Eight Is Enough. 

She made her first movie quality alongside Jodie Foster in Freaky Friday (1976). 

In 1978, Tilton made a cameo quality successful nan John Milius movie Big Wednesday.

That aforesaid twelvemonth she was formed arsenic Lucy Ewing, nan granddaughter of John 'Jock' Ewing Sr. and nan erstwhile Eleanor 'Ellie' Southworth connected Dallas.

She held her ain against vets for illustration Jim Davis, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Larry Hagman. 

The bid ran from 1978 to 1985 and from 1988 to 1990. 

She besides appeared connected 1 section of nan series' spin-off Knots Landing successful 1980.

Tilton is besides a singer.

And she sang connected a 1978 section of Dallas titled Runaway.

 In 1984, she released nan dance-pop azygous C'est la Vie.

Tilton besides appeared connected crippled shows, specified arsenic Family Feud, Battle of nan Network Stars, Hollywood Squares, Pyramid, 1 vs. 100, and Catch 21.

And nan prima was a panelist connected nan 1979–1982 syndicated type of Match Game. 

After Dallas, Tilton went to prima successful nan tv films Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker and The Fall of nan House of Usher, both from 1979. 

During nan 1980s, she guest-starred connected Fantasy Island, The Fall Guy, Hotel, The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote.

She was besides successful Problem Child 2.

In 1993, she appeared arsenic herself successful an section of Married... pinch Children.

In addition, she has appeared successful respective send-up comedies, specified arsenic The Silence of nan Hams (1994), Superhero Movie (2008), and Paranormal Calamity (2010). In 2005, she appeared successful nan British reality tv show The Farm.

In January 2012, Tilton was a contestant connected nan British ice-skating show Dancing connected Ice successful its seventh season.

In 2012, Tilton joined nan formed of TNT's Dallas revival series, and reprised her domiciled arsenic Lucy Ewing.

She later appeared successful nan ABC drama bid The Middle successful 2015, and nan thriller movie Vengeance: A Love Story. 

Tilton besides appeared successful Lifetime and Hallmark Channel films.

Tilton was joined to state vocalist Johnny Lee from 1982 to 1984. 

Their daughter, Cherish Lee, was calved successful 1982. In 2001, Tilton began making love cinematographer Cheddy Hart. 

In December 2009, Hart abruptly died of bosom nonaccomplishment astatine property 54.

In 2023, Tilton opened up astir her 'tumultuous' puerility and her struggles being raised by her mentally sick mother in People.

The actress revealed that her mother's schizophrenia progressed passim her puerility to nan constituent that she was institutionalized for respective years.

Tilton described really her mother Katherine sewage pregnant aft she began seeing an Air Force aviator during a play erstwhile she was moving arsenic a caput astatine nan Pentagon.

However, her begetter didn't instrumentality astir aft Charlene was born.

'My biologic begetter didn't want thing to do pinch me,' she said, noting that her fame arsenic an big didn't alteration that. 'He had to person known astir maine — Dallas was truthful immense — but he ne'er reached out.'

She later learned via a DNA trial that she had 3 half-siblings who had besides ne'er met their father, though she besides learned that he had died six months earlier her discovery. Despite ne'er being capable to speak to her father, she stayed optimistic. 

'I don't transportation a spot connected my shoulder. I don't get into self-pity,' she said. 'I spot nan agleam broadside of things, and that's served maine good during tumultuous times/'

But Tilton went connected to callback a consciousness of instability while surviving pinch her mother arsenic a young child.

She recounted seeing her mother furious aft their tv group was repossessed arsenic she was trying to watch Captain Kangaroo, arsenic good arsenic a train travel from Los Angeles, to Omaha, Nebraska, wherever they were forced to get disconnected astatine an early extremity because her mother suffered a break down.

Another disturbing representation was of constabulary taking her mother away, leaving her unsocial successful an unfamiliar place, and she shared nan traumatizing representation of seeing Katherine outfitted pinch a consecutive jacket.

In that atmosphere, she turned to movies to thief her flight her fears and troubles.

'Everything was magical connected screen,' Tilton said. 'I saw Julie Andrews successful Mary Poppins and The Sound Of Music and thought, 'I want her to beryllium my mother.''

Her mother's unwellness progressed to nan constituent wherever she was institutionalized, opening erstwhile Tilton was 5 and concluding pinch her merchandise soon earlier she turned eight.

Without her parent, she was forced to recreation betwixt relatives' homes for years. 

'I retrieve nan kids saying, 'When is she going to go?' and nan parents said, 'We're trying to nonstop her disconnected but we can't get anyone to return her.' I thought, 'I'm ne'er going to dangle connected anybody to return attraction of me,'' she recalled.

After she was capable to unrecorded pinch her mother again successful California, Tilton described really location were 'always a batch of pill bottles around,' but medicine didn't look to make overmuch of an effect connected her mother's condition.

Their location was filthy, and Tilton revealed that her mother refused to usage a toilet and would only urinate successful integrative nutrient retention containers. 

'That went connected for years. I could ne'er bring friends over,' she lamented.

At nan time, Tilton's mother's struggles were moreover much stigmatized than today. 'Back past intelligence unwellness wasn't talked about,' she said. 'It was swept nether nan rug.'

Katherine's unwellness spilled complete into Charlene's schoolhouse life erstwhile her mother offered to chaperone a schoolhouse dance, but past had an section successful which she carried connected an statement aloud pinch herself. 

Now, though, she finds solace successful being capable to stock those stories without shame. 'Bringing things retired successful nan unfastened is truthful helpful,' she said.

Tilton yet moved retired of her mother's flat aft a rat crawled crossed her. ''I can't unrecorded for illustration this,'' she thought astatine nan time.

It wasn't until 1978, erstwhile she began starring connected Dallas, that she gained a consciousness of stability, though her mother's intelligence unwellness still intruded. 

She shared that Katherine would constitute 'crazy' letters to nan primetime soap opera's producers, though she stayed focused connected her acting.

Now that she was making $15,000 per week, it was easier to thief her mother, but nan money only went truthful far. She recounted learning that constabulary had picked up her mother aft she was recovered stepping astir successful nan nude successful Hollywood, though she was released since she didn't airs a threat to others.

While appearing connected Dallas, Tilton said she empathized pinch her characteristic Lucy, who had been raised by her grandparents. 

'She was hopeless to find nan emotion of nan parents she ne'er had. I understood what made her tick,' she said.

After her stint connected nan bid ended successful 1990, Tilton dealt pinch a 'lot of stress,' arsenic she 'wasn't moving and I wasn't taking attraction of myself.'

In nan aftermath of her grounded two-year matrimony to state vocalist Johnny Lee, which she called a 'disaster successful nan making,' she was near pinch her 'beautiful daughter' Cherish, whom she doted on.

The costs of raising her girl unsocial and caring for her mother, who yet moved to an assisted-living facility, sapped astir of her savings.

'My location was foreclosed. I near everything isolated from what we could fresh successful a one-bedroom house.'

After her mother's decease successful 2001, Tilton began to activity connected surface again pinch humble roles, and she recovered caller emotion pinch nan cinematographer Cheddy Hart. The 2 were yet engaged, but past Hart died unexpectedly of bosom nonaccomplishment successful 2009, leaving Tilton devastated.

'I conscionable sat connected nan sofa drinking and smoking cigarettes,' she said. But she recovered caller information aft a friend encouraged her to unpaid pinch Actors for Autism. 'I fell successful emotion pinch nan students,' she gushed. 'To get retired of your ain slump aliases grief, you spell thief somebody.'

Now, Tilton spends plentifulness of clip pinch her grandsons and acts occasionally successful faith-based movies, and she mused that aging suits her.

'When I was connected Dallas and doing bathing suit mag covers, I couldn't hold to get older,' she admitted. 'I ever saw myself arsenic a characteristic actress. I'm petite and curvy, not gangly and thin. I'm not elegant, I'm spunky. What I emotion astir nan property I americium now is it brings different characters.'