Pamela Des Barres

Pamela Des Barres, born Pamela Ann Miller on September 9, 1948 in Los Angeles, California, emerged from a modest Kentucky‑rooted family to become one of the most iconic figures of the 1960s and 1970s rock scene. As a teenager she idolized Elvis Presley, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, dreaming of meeting Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger, and she soon found herself swept onto the Sunset Strip by a high‑school acquaintance who introduced her to Captain Beefheart and, through him, to the inner circle of the Rolling Stones. Her magnetic personality and fearless enthusiasm earned her a reputation as the ultimate rock and roll groupie, forging close friendships and romantic entanglements with legends such as Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, Noel Redding and Gram Parsons, while also hanging out with the Byrds, the Doors and countless other acts. In 1968 she joined the experimental all‑female performance art group the GTOs, produced by Frank Zappa, and performed alongside the Mothers of Invention at the Shrine Auditorium in a marathon six‑hour concert; the group released one album, Permanent Damage, before dissolving a month later.

Beyond the groupie lifestyle, Des Barres pursued a multifaceted career as a musician, actress, and author. She appeared in Frank Zappa’s cult film 200 Motels, acted in several B‑movies, and held a recurring role on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow in 1974. Her marriage to British rocker Michael Des Barres in 1977 produced a son, Nicholas, and the couple divorced in 1991. Pamela’s literary voice emerged with the best‑selling memoir I’m with the Band (1987), followed by Take Another Little Piece of My Heart (1993) and several non‑fiction works that chronicled the darker side of the music industry. Her vivid recollections are said to have inspired the Penny Lane character in Almost Famous, and she remains a prolific writer, columnist, and creative‑writing instructor, continuing to share the raw, behind‑the‑scenes stories that defined an era of rock history.