Paula Patton Biography

Paula Maxine Patton (born December 5, 1975) is an American actress. Patton made her film debut in the 2005 comedy film Hitch and starred in Warcraft (2016), based on the game series of the same name. Patton has also been the female lead in Dj Vu (2006), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), and 2 Guns (2013) and Precious (2009).

Early life

Patton was born in Los Angeles, California, to Joyce (ne Vanraden), a school teacher, and Charles Patton, a lawyer. Her mother is European-American and her father is African-American. She graduated from Alexander Hamilton High School, and then started college at University of California, Berkeley, transferring to University of Southern California's Film School after her first year. Shortly after completing her studies, she won a three-month assignment making documentaries for PBS.

Career

Patton provided additional vocals for Usher on his 2004 album Confessions. She provided the female vocal counterpart on the song "Can U Handle It?" which was co-written by Robin Thicke, whom she would later marry. Patton has song-writing credits on multiple Robin Thicke albums under the name "Max", derived from her middle name (Maxine). Patton made her film debut with a small part in the 2005 romantic comedy film Hitch, which starred Will Smith and Eva Mendes. She followed that with a small part in the drama London. In 2006, she appeared alongside OutKast members Andre Benjamin and Big Boi in the musical film Idlewild written and directed by Bryan Barber.

Patton's big break came in 2006 when she landed the pivotal female lead role of Claire Kuchever in the science fiction thriller Dj Vu opposite Denzel Washington. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office hit, grossing over $180 million worldwide. She also appeared in her then-husband Robin Thicke's "Lost Without You" video in 2006. In 2008, Patton played television reporter Kate Madison in the comedy-drama Swing Vote with Kevin Costner and Amy Carson, the wife of Ben (Kiefer Sutherland) in the supernatural horror film Mirrors. In Lee Daniels' critically acclaimed drama film Precious, she played Ms. Blu Rain, a teacher at the alternative high school in Harlem, New York, who teaches and mentors disadvantaged students, including the titular character, Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe). She later co-starred as Queen Latifah's character's godsister in the romantic comedy Just Wright (2010).

In late 2010, it was announced that Patton would succeed Sharon Stone as the new full-time assistant district attorney on the NBC legal drama series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. However, Patton landed the lead female role in action film Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and her role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was reduced to one episode. She was replaced by Melissa Sagemiller. Mission: Impossible was released on December 16, 2011 and was a critical and commercial success, grossing almost $700 million worldwide. Also in 2011, Patton played the leading role in the comedy film Jumping the Broom. The movie grossing over $37 million opposite $6 million production budget.

In 2013, Patton co-starred with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg in the action comedy film 2 Guns, and starred in the leading role in the romantic comedy film Baggage Claim. The film received negative reviews from critics. On February 24, 2015, it was announced that Patton was cast as lead character in the ABC crime drama pilot Runner. It was not picked up to series.

In 2016, Patton starred in the romantic comedy The Perfect Match, alongside Terrence Jenkins, appeared opposite Adam Sandler in direct-to-Netflix comedy film The Do-Over, and starred as Garona Halforcen in the Warcraft film adaptation, released in June.

In January 2017, Patton was cast in the lead role of the ABC drama series Somewhere Between, which premiered on July 24. She plays Laura Price, a mother who travels back in time to prevent her daughter's death.

Personal life

In 1991, at the age of 16, Patton met recording artist Robin Thicke, who was then 14, at an under-21 hip-hop club called Balistyx (co-founded and co-hosted by David Faustino) on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, when Thicke asked her to dance. According to Thicke, he sang Stevie Wonder's "Jungle Fever" to her as they danced. The couple began dating in 1993 and married on June 11, 2005. Patton gave birth to their son, Julian Fuego, on April 7, 2010. They announced their separation on February 24, 2014 after 21 years together and almost nine years of marriage. On October 8, 2014, Patton officially filed for divorce and joint custody of their son. The divorce was finalized on March 20, 2015.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Hitch	Mandy
2005	London	Alex
2006	Idlewild	Angel Davenport / Sally B. Shelly
2006	Dj Vu	Claire Kuchever
2008	Mirrors	Amy Carson
2008	Swing Vote	Kate Madison
2009	Precious	Ms. Blu Rain
2010	Just Wright	Morgan Alexander
2011	Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol	Jane Carter
2011	Jumping the Broom	Sabrina Watson
2012	Disconnect	Cindy Hull
2013	2 Guns	Deb
2013	Baggage Claim	Montana Moore
2014	About Last Night	Allison
2016	The Perfect Match	Sherry	Also producer
2016	The Do-Over	Heather Fishman
2016	Warcraft	Garona Halforcen
2018	Traffik	Brea

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Murder Book	Det. Angela Kellogg	Unsold TV pilot
2010	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	A.D.A. Mikka Von	Episode: "Wet"
2012	Single Ladies	Layla Twilight	Episodes: "The Business of Friendship" and "Fast Love"
2015	Runner	Lauren Marks	Unsold TV pilot
2017-present	Somewhere Between	Laura Price	Main role

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2007	Black Reel Award	Best Breakthrough Performance	Dj Vu
2007		Best Supporting Actress	Precious
	Boston Society of Film Critics Award	Best Cast
	Critics' Choice Movie Award	Best Acting Ensemble
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award	Best Ensemble
2012	Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards	Kick Ass Award for Best Female Action Star	Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Action
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	Jumping the Broom