Paula Patton (born January 1, 1976) is an African-American actress. She is the wife of songwriter/singer Robin Thicke. They were married in June 2005 in Santa Barbara, California.
Raised in Los Angeles, Paula Patton has been pursuing her dreams of becoming an actress ever since she was a little girl. Having grown up in the entertainment capital of the world, Paula began preparing for a career in the business while still in high school. Paula’s teen years were spent at the prestigious Hamilton School for the Performing Arts, where the would-be performer spent hours honing her craft. After graduating, Paula received the opportunity of a lifetime when PBS selected her as one of four young filmmakers to participate in a program called The Ride, in which she was given access to equipment and a small crew, and told to film her experiences with other youths across America.
Following that experience, Paula enrolled at UC Berkeley, though she transferred to USC Film School after her first year, and went on to graduate magna cum laude. It wasn’t long before Paula, with her experience on The Ride and her education behind her, managed to land a job with the Discovery Channel as producer for the show Medical Diaries.
Paula eventually grew tired of toiling behind the camera and decided to sign herself up for acting classes. She consequently began the arduous auditioning process, finally landing her first role opposite Will Smith and Eva Mendes in 2005’s Hitch. She followed that up with a small part in the little-seen drama London (also released in ’05 and featuring Chris Evans, Jessica Biel and Jason Statham), and appeared alongside OutKast boys Andre Benjamin and Big Boi in Idlewild (2006).
Paula was also the leading lady in the 2006 film Déjà Vu, a thriller starring Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer.
She made her mainstream acting debut with a minor role in the 2005 film Hitch, starring Will Smith. Her biggest role to date was in the OutKast musical Idlewild, portraying André Benjamin's character's love interest, Angel Davenport, (real name: Sally B Shelly). She steals another woman's identity to become a star. She also co-stars with Denzel Washington in the 2006 movie Deja Vu as Claire Kuchever. Deja Vu finally introduced Paula into the mainstream with the lead role next to the Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington. Patton will next appear in the upcoming film Mirrors, alongside Kiefer Sutherland and star in This Wednesday due out in 2008.
