Paula Barbieri Biography

Paula Barbieri (born December 31, 1966) is an American former model and actress. She was reportedly the last girlfriend of O. J. Simpson before the murder of Nicole Simpson and was with him the night before the murders, at a fundraiser.

Acting career

Barbieri first gained public recognition as a fashion model for Vogue and Victoria's Secret. Moreover, Barbieri acted in several low-budget straight-to-video movies in the early to mid 1990s and appeared as a pool hustler in the Double or Nothing (1992) episode of the erotic drama series Red Shoe Diaries with Ely Pouget, Francesco Quinn, and Lisa Boyle. In 1995, she appeared in The Misery Brothers, in The Watcher episode "The Human Condition", and in The Dangerous. She also appeared in the Red Shoe Diaries 5: Weekend Pass. Her last role was as Beverly Hills psychiatrist Dr. Angela Cross in the TV movie Night Eyes 4: Fatal Passion. She posed for a nude pictorial in the October, 1994 issue of Playboy and was "the girl" in Michael Bolton's music video for "Completely".

O. J. Simpson case

Barbieri had dated O. J. Simpson and was reportedly his last girlfriend before the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Brown's friend Ronald Goldman, on June 12, 1994. Barbieri last saw Simpson the night before the murders, when they attended a fundraiser together. On the morning of the murders, Barbieri left Simpson a 30-minute-long message on his answering machine, breaking off their relationship. She indicated she was flying to Las Vegas to be with singer Michael Bolton. Simpson denied ever receiving the message, and his attorney Johnnie Cochran portrayed Simpson and Barbieri as a happy couple. Barbieri was called to testify at Simpson's trial.

Barbieri continued to visit Simpson while he was in jail, which led to a fallout with her father, Vincent Barbieri. Vincent described his daughter as "brainwashed", and remarked that: "As far as I'm concerned, Simpson is guilty." By 1995, the case had traumatized Barbieri to the point where she was unable to look for work or to pick up scripts for roles which were offered to her. She claimed some job opportunities were merely paparazzi attempts to discuss the criminal case, and she was fearful of others' intentions.

Barbieri stuck by Simpson until around November 1995, when it was reported she left after he berated her for the way she dressed and accused her of sleeping around. New York Magazine claimed Barbieri had dumped Simpson for going off with another woman. In an interview that same month, Barbieri claimed she ended their relationship shortly after his acquittal, and he was using her to make money from photographs. She still, however, maintained Simpson was innocent.

In September 1997, Barbieri released the book, The Other Woman: My Years With O.J. Simpson, in which she wrote about becoming a born-again Christian. She claimed their break-up was due to his inability to remain faithful, but asserted he was never physically abusive. In an interview on Larry King Live that same year, she said, "Rather than replace O.J. for my father, I replaced him for God." She also stated: "I'm choosing not to look further into making a decision one way or another" about Simpson's guilt or innocence.

Personal life

In April 2000, Barbieri married Michael Overstreet, a judge in the 14th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. They lived in the Panama City, Florida area as of January 2012 and have a daughter.