Paula Patton

Paula Patton is the daughter of Joyce (Vanraden) Patton and Charles Patton. Her father is African-American and her mother, who is caucasian is of German, English, and Dutch ancestry. As a child and her family lived next to the 20th Century Fox lot. She was a fervent movie buff from the time she was a child. Her mother, a teacher as well as her father as a lawyer were both avid film fans. Paula said that she attempted to escape as an infant by "pretending" to become someone else. So it's not a surprise that she was a part of Hamilton Magnet Arts High School productions. Her favorite role was "Abigail" from "The Crucible". She went on to take a course in film at the University of Southern California in the summer program and won a 3-month assignment making documentaries for PBS. The result was that she began working as a production assistant in TV documentaries, and also on Howie Mandel's talk show. Then, she created documentary segments for Medical Diaries (2000 on Discovery Health Channel). Paula states she loves her work but her ambition was the same. She studied acting before deciding to switch gears and become an actor. She made headlines within a matter of days and was featured in Hitch (2006), Idlewild (2006) as well as Deja Vu (2006) as the female character.