Pascal was born in
New York City, spending her upbringing both there and in
Florida. She broke into television in 1984, at first in guest roles on such series as ''
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and Hotel'', and in a few made-for-TV movies before landing what is perhaps her best known role to date on
Showtime's
Brothers, in 1986. For the next three seasons of
Brothers, Pascal played Sam, the new steady love interest of Joe Waters (
Robert Walden), whom he eventually marries at the start of the show's fifth season. Sam became pregnant just before their wedding, and bore Joe a daughter, Caroline, during the season. Outside of and beyond
Brothers, Pascal continued to do guest work on syndicated, network and cable TV series, while adding more TV movies to her resume. Her most visible roles in TV films include
Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife (1987),
Parker Kane (1990) and ''Writer's Block'' (1991). Pascal's last guest appearance was in a 1996 episode of
USA Network's
Pacific Blue (a series from
Brothers producer
Gary Nardino). In various credits of hers, she is sometimes billed as Marianne or Mariann, but is most commonly referred to as Mary Ann. Prior to officially joining the cast of
Brothers, Pascal actually made guest appearances in the program's first and second seasons, as nearly different characters. In her second season guest shot only, she was credited as Mariann Pascal, but in her original 1984 appearance, as well as during her three-year role as Sam, she was billed as Mary Ann Pascal. In the mid-1980s, after her acting career commenced, Pascal began working as unofficial hostess of the
Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in
Las Vegas. She regularly commuted back and forth between Las Vegas and
Los Angeles for work. During her time on
Brothers, the show made several references to the Golden Nugget in storylines that involved the Sam character. In fact, a multi-episode story arc in the fourth season was partially shot on location at the Golden Nugget when most of the cast (including Pascal) went to Las Vegas. Then, at the end of the show's fifth-season premiere, when Joe and Sam decide to return to Las Vegas for their wedding, Sam asks Joe if they'll have a "Golden Nugget nuptial". Pascal continued her career with Las Vegas resorts after leaving on-screen acting in 1996, eventually becoming Vice President of Player Development at
Wynn Las Vegas, a position she currently holds. ==Personal life==