Paula Patton

Paula Patton was the daughter of Joyce (Vanraden) and Charles Patton. Her father is African-American, and her mother is caucasian and is of German, English and Dutch heritage. Her family lived across the street from the 20th Century Fox lot as she was growing-up, and she was a major enthusiast of films from her early days. Her mother, a teacher and her father as a lawyer were both avid movie buffs. Paula stated that she had tried to get away as a young girl by "pretending" to become someone else. It's no surprise that she took part in Hamilton Magnet Arts High School productions. Her favorite character was that of "Abigail" in "The Crucible". In the end, she chose to learn film at the University of Southern California in the summer program and received a three-month contract to create documentaries for PBS. This led to her working as a production assistant in documentary films on TV, as well as on Howie Mandel's talk show. Then, she created documentaries for Medical Diaries (2000 on Discovery Health Channel). Paula claims she enjoys doing what she loves, but she still dreams of being a performer. She became a star quickly and was featured in Hitch (2006), Idlewild (2006), and Deja Vu (2006) as the female lead.