Paula Patton's Real Name: Paula Patton

Quick answer: The actress is known professionally as Paula Patton. TV Guide records the name Paula Maxine Patton and places the birth in Los Angeles, California. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter discuss later film work under the professional name but do not give that longer form.

Real name and early life

TV Guide lists the birth name as Paula Maxine Patton and places the birth in Los Angeles, California. The same page does not give a calendar birth date, and says she studied filmmaking at the University of Southern California and became interested in acting through high-school plays. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter do not give a birth name, date, or place.

Career highlights

TV Guide says that before she became an actress she worked as a producer on the series Medical Diaries, was part of the PBS documentary The Ride, and provided background vocals on Usher's album Confessions. Variety independently says she began her career in documentary films and that, as part of a PBS project, she made The Ride, about tensions between white high-school students in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and the Native American population there. The same profile says she went on to make more documentaries after that project, then turned her attention to acting. The same 2006 Variety profile says her career had taken off with prominent roles in the then-recently released Idlewild and the then-upcoming Disney film Deja Vu, after a read-through that included Jerry Bruckheimer, Denzel Washington, Tony Scott, and Val Kilmer. The Hollywood Reporter, in a December 1, 2011, article, says she played Jane Carter in Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, the fourth film in the series, directed by Brad Bird and scheduled to open on December 21 of that year, alongside Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, and Simon Pegg. TV Guide also lists a 2007 Black Reel Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance, a 2010 Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and a 2012 Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Paula Patton or Paula Maxine Patton are looking for the same actress, including the later films Idlewild, Deja Vu, and Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol most often associated with her name. Search traffic often uses the professional name Paula Patton.