Background:

"My character went through skin-cancer surgery, and when I woke up in the scene, I had full make-up on, glossy lips and mascara. I forgot about reality. I still cringe when I see that scene." Alexandra Paul (on memories of Baywatch).

5' 10'' tall and athletic actress Alexandra Paul is best recognized while portraying Lieutenant Stephanie Holden (1992-1997) on the wildly popular series “Baywatch” and playing Terry O'Brien (1999) on the last season of the series “Melrose Place.” Debuting in the ABC highly rated movie Paper Dolls (1982), Paul was also remembered for reprising her role in Detonator (1993 and 1995, as Sabrina Carver) and playing a recurring role in three installments of the 2-hour specials Perry Mason (1989, as former detective Amy Hastings). A proficient triathlon athlete and avid environmentalist, Alexandra Paul hosted Outdoor Life Network’s extreme sports series “Wild Waters,” WE's “Winning Women” and a local environmentalism show “Earth Talk Today.”

On the wide screen, brown-haired, hazel-eyed Alexandra Paul has appeared in such films as Christine (1983), American Flyers (1985), Dragnet (1987), The Paper Boy (1994), Cyber Bandits (1995), House of the Damned (1996) and Diary of a Sex Addict (2001). A model turned actress, Paul recently starred in the 2003 film A Woman Hunted (a.k.a. Outrage) and will soon finish the upcoming movie A Lover's Revenge.


Triathlon Athlete

Childhood and Family:

Daughter of an investment banker (Mark Paul) and a social worker (Sarah Paul), Alexandra Paul was born on July 29, 1963 in New York. She has an identical twin sister, Caroline, a San Francisco firefighter and an author who wrote the Pulitzer nominated book, Fighting Fire. She is also has a younger brother named Jonathan.

A dedicated and accomplished athlete, Alexandra competed in the World Ironman Triathlon Championships in Hawaii in 1997 and completed in 13:18:52. She met actor and triathlon coach Ian Murray during a triathlon 5 years ago. They tied the knot on September 16, 2000 and had an ocean swim and a Malibu triathlon for their honeymoon.

Alexandra graduated with honors from the prestigious prep school Groton High School, Groton, MA. She is a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) and a prolific environmental activist who recycles, drives an electric car and will not use any products tested on animals. In 1997, the United Nations highly praised her environmental activism and she won the International Green Cross award in 1999. She joined The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament walking across America for over five weeks and has been arrested several times for protesting at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site. She has given speaks to Los Angeles teenagers on the issue of human overpopulation and along with twin sister Caroline, Alexandra became the recipients of the Christopher Street West Rainbow Award (2000) for supporting gay and lesbian rights. Recently, the ACLU of Southern California honored her as “2005 Activist of the Year” for her dedication in the environment, voting rights and peace issues.
"People will think I'm odd sometimes when I'm on the set (of BAYWATCH), since they don't recycle. I take everything home. I never throw anything away--even little pieces of paper." Alexandra Paul (on her recycling habits).


Winning Women

Career:

Starting out as a model, Alexandra Paul turned her interest in acting and had her TV debut appearance in Paper Dolls (1982). In the ABC’s much-watched drama, she played daughter of Jennifer Warren’s character, teen model Laurie Caswell, opposite Daryl Hannah. In the next year, she got her first big screen work in Don McBrearty’s thriller American Nightmare (with Lawrence Day and Lora Staley).

Alexandra got her first significant role in John Carpenter’s dark and violent film based on the best-selling Stephen King novel, Christine (1983, starring Keith Gordon). She followed it up roles in Edouard Molinaro’s comedy Just the Way You Are (1984, starring Kristy McNichol) and John Badham’s bicycle race drama American Flyers (1985, as sensuous hitchhiker Becky, along with Kevin Costner). She also costarred as expensive prostitute Sunny in Hal Ashby’s adaptation of Lawrence Block’s book, 8 Million Ways to Die (1986, opposite Jeff Bridges) and appeared in Tom Mankiewicz’s film version of the radio and television series Dragnet (1987, with Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks).

On the small screen, Alexandra starred as Kendall Gibley, an unfulfilled young secretary who began bodybuilding, in Getting Physical (1984) and costarred with Charles Dance in an adaptation of Andrea Davidson’s novel, Out of the Shadows (1988). She also had a recurring role in three installments of the 2-hour specials Perry Mason (1989), playing former detective Amy Hastings, and guest starred in an episode of the series "The Hitchhiker."

Early 1990s saw Alexandra played roles in films like After the Rain, Laker Girls (TV), Miliardi, In Between and Prey of the Chameleon (as deputy sheriff and James Wilder’s ex fiancée, Carrie). TV audience probably best remembered as sexy lifeguard Lt. Stephanie Holden in the internationally popular series "Baywatch," which she starred form 1992 to 1997.

While working in “Baywatch,” Alexandra acted in such big screen films as Kevin Connor’s Sunset Grill (1993, played Peter Weller’s estranged wife), Douglas Jackson’s The Paper Boy (1994) and Izidore K. Musallam’s Nothing to Lose (1994, opposite Michael V Gazzo). She was also cast in Erik Fleming’s Cyber Bandits (1995, as Robert Hays’s mistress), Scott P. Levy’s House of the Damned (1996, as Greg Evigan’s wife), Wayne Isham’s 12 Bucks (1998) and Neil Mandt’s Arthur's Quest (1999).

Along with Pierce Brosnan, Alexandra costarred as elite espionage team member Sabrina Carver in the TV movie Detonator (1993) and reprised her role in its 1995 sequel, Detonator II: Night Watch, adopted from the novel by Alistair MacLean. Another Alexandra’s telefilms including Piranha (1995, as one of Darleen Carr’s assistants), Danielle Steel's 'Mixed Blessings' (1995, as Scott Baio’s wife), Daytona Beach (1996, alongside Lisa Boyle), Echo (1997). Alexandra also had a recurring role in the final season of the series "Melrose Place" (as Terry O'Brien, 1999).

Filmmaker Marc S. Grenier handed her the leading role of Laura Underwood in his thriller movie Revenge (2000, a.k.a. Fallen Angel) and she had a cameo in Blair Treu’s family comedy The Brainiacs.com (starring Michael Angarano and Kevin Kilner). In the subsequent year, Alexandra portrayed Linden Ashby’s wife in Robert Malenfant’s Facing the Enemy, costarred Michael Des Barres in Joseph Brutsman’s Diary of a Sex Addict and joined Jason Stuart in Michael Gallant’s 10 Attitudes.

Alexandra also starred in Stuart Alexander’s Above and Beyond (opposite Costas Mandylor), Jennifer McGlone’s short comedy Breaking Up Really Sucks (both in 2001) and shared the screen with Diane Ladd and John Savage in Redemption of the Ghost (2002). For TV watchers, they saw her along with Eric Roberts in the airplane thriller TV movie Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534 (2001, playing flight Attendant Katy Phillips) and with Marcus Graham in Green Sails (2000).

In 2003, Alexandra reunited with Linden Ashby in Morrie Ruvinsky’s A Woman Hunted (a.k.a. Outrage), starring as rehabilitated mother Lainie Wheeler, and played Allison Ford in the made-for-TV film Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. She recently acted in the 2004 telemovies Landslide (with Vincent Spano and Luke Eberl) and Saving Emily (a.k.a. Blood Trap, as Bruce Boxleitner’s wife). She will reunite with director Douglas Jackson in his upcoming thriller A Lover's Revenge (opposite Gary Hudson) and is currently filming the upcoming sci-fi action telefilm Core: Boiling Point, along with Costas Mandylor and Michael Ironside.

Adding to her acting works, Alexandra is also a host. She hosted the extreme sports series “Wild Waters” on the Outdoor Life Network, the WE network series “Winning Women” and the environmental cable access talk show “Earth Talk Today.” Moreover, she wrote, produced and hosted an award winning educational film broadcast on PBS about the human overpopulation crisis titled Jampacked. She also founded Young Artists United in 1986 with producer / manager Daniel Sladek, a non-profit organization devoted to help young people in need.

"Maybe I'm typecast this year, but I'll [be] something else next year. Whatever you do, people put you in a little box for the moment. But you can get out of it." Alexandra Paul.


Awards:
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