Former Dallas actress Victoria Principal is being sued after she allegedly pulled a gun on a maid.

The 59-year-old star, who played Pam Ewing in the hit American soap, was said to have become furious after her housekeeper, Maribel Banegas, took too long walking the dog.

Sued: court papers show housekeeper's action against Principal

According to a lawsuit, filed at Los Angeles County Superior Court, Principal sacked Banegas and told her to leave when she returned from walking the dog, a Shih Tzu-type breed called Mei-Ling.

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When Banegas - who said she had had to wait because it wouldn't do its "business" - then asked for her pay, Principal went upstairs and came back with a gun in her hand.

She then allegedly aimed the weapon at Banegas and threatened to kill her, even asking another housekeeper who was in the room to step aside so that she could shoot Banegas.

Believing her "death by shooting" was imminent, Banegas said she locked herself in another room and called police.

The lawsuit says that Principal stood outside the door all the while, continuing to make threats. Police responded to the call at Principal's Malibu home.

Banegas is claiming assault, false imprisonment and emotional distress and is now suing for lost wages and unspecified damages.

Principal was on Dallas between 1978 and 1987, during which time she was nominated for a Golden Globe for best actress in a TV series.

After she quit the soap she appeared on several TV movies and a sitcom. Her latest role was in 2000 on a TV drama series, Titans.

She divorced her second husband, plastic surgeon Harry Glassman, in 2006 after a 21-year marriage and has no children. She is also currently putting acting aside to train as a civilian astronaut on Richard Branson' s commercial space flight venture, Virgin Galactic.

Dallas was one of the most popular TV shows in America during its 13-year run, with its biggest cliffhanger - the mystery of who shot JR Ewing - catapulting it to worldwide success.