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Who is Pauletta Washington?
American actress and singer Pauletta Washington was born in Newton, North Carolina USA, on 28 September 1950, making Libra her zodiac sign. She has 15 acting credits, and is perhaps still known best for singing “It’s In Your eyes” in the evergreen 1993 drama movie “Philadelphia”, which starred Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, and was directed by Jonathan Demme. It follows a man suffering from HIV who’s been fired from the company because of his medical condition, and has now hired a homophobic lawyer to sue the company; the movie won 20 of its 43 award nominations, including two Oscar wins for Best Music, Original Song and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks).
Pauletta’s also known for being the wife of famous American actor, producer and director Denzel Hayes Washington Jr; he’s appeared in 62 movies and TV series, and has won two Oscars for his performance in the 1999 biographical historical movie “Glory”, and the 2001 crime action film “Training Day”.
Education and early life
Pauletta was raised in Newton alongside her sister Rita and brother Phairlever Jr, by their mother Arletta DuBois Smallwood Pearson and father Phairlever W. Pearson Sr; not many details have been shared about Pauletta’s family, because she respects their privacy, but it’s known that her brother passed away in 2014.
Pauletta was focused solely on her education while growing up; she and her family moved to New York City when she was 14, and she enrolled at the prestigious Juilliard School, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1969.
She continued her education at the University of North Carolina’s School of Arts, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in theatre and film production in 1973.
Roles in movies
Pauletta’s debut film role was playing Mae Faggs in the 1977 biographical sports drama “Wilma”, which starred Shirley Jo Finney and Cicely Tyson, and was written and directed by Bud Greenspan; it follows American track sprinter Wilma Rudolph who won three gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1960.
Pauletta was then cast to appear in the 1981 musical family comedy “Purlie”, and her following film role came in 1998, when cast to portray The Thirty Women in the 1998 historical horror “Beloved”, which starred Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover, and was directed by Jonathan Demme. Based on Toni Morrison’s book, the film follows a slave who’s being visited by a mysterious young woman’s spirit, and the film won three of its 27 award nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design.
Pauletta’s following role came in 2013, when cast to play Mrs Glenn in the historical family drama “The Watsons Go to Birmingham”, and she was then cast to appear in the 2016 biographical sports drama “The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story”, the 2016 short romantic drama “90 Days” and the 2017 short comedy “Career Suicide: Arthur’s Edge”.
She portrayed Yahweh in the 2019 short drama “Burden”, and the year 2021 saw her play Doctor Olivia in the drama “Steps”, which starred Rob Morgan and Walter Fauntleroy, and was directed by Rock Davis and Jay Rodriguez Jr; it follows Brian Coleman as he’s searching for God.
Roles in TV series
Pauletta’s debut TV series role was voicing Jack’s Mother in the 1995 episode “Jack and the Beanstalk” of the animated adventure comedy “Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child”, and the year 2003 saw her portray Terri Angelou in two episodes of the comedy “The Parkers”, which starred Mo’Nique and Dorien Wilson, and was created by Ralph Farquhar. It follows Kim and Nikki Parker as they’re attending Santa Monica College, and the series won six of its 17 award nominations.
Pauletta’s also known for portraying Miss Ella Chisholm in eight episodes of the popular comedy “She’s Gotta Have It”, which starred DeWanda Wise and Anthony Ramos, and was created by Spike Lee. It follows the lives of a woman and her three lovers, the series aired from 2017 through 2019 and won one of its seven award nominations.
Pauletta’s appeared in two other TV series: she played Rachel Franklin in eight episodes of the 2021 biographical historical drama “Genius”, and Mama Lu in nine episodes of the 2022 drama “Reasonable Doubt”.
Other credits
Pauletta played the piano in a scene in the 2002 biographical movie “Antwone Fisher”, which won 19 of its 41 award nominations.
Some of her recent talk-show appearances have been in “E! Live from the Red Carpet”, “Entertainment Tonight” and “Talks with Mama Tina”.
Awards and nominations
Pauletta’s won two awards: a 2000 Women in Film Crystal Humanitarian Award and a 2005 BET Humanitarian Award, both of which she shared with her husband Denzel.
Love life and husband
Pauletta prefers to keep the details of her love life to herself, but this has proven to be quite hard given the fact that her husband Denzel’s one of the most popular American actors.
The two met on the set of the above mentioned movie “Wilma”, and exchanged vows in a private but large ceremony on 25 June 1983. Pauletta and Denzel have four children together: she gave birth to their son John David on 28 July 1984, their daughter Katia followed on 27 November 1986, and twins Malcolm and Olivia on 10 April 1991.
Their eldest son John is an actor and former Football Player, their daughter Katia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and their son Malcolm a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
There are no other men whom Pauletta’s perhaps been with, that we know about; she’s married to Denzel Washington as of July 2023, and they have four children together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Pauletta and her husband Denzel are philanthropists and have donated large sums of money to charity, while they’re mostly into helping underprivileged children.
Both she and her husband are deeply religious, and Denzel’s revealed that he’s thought about becoming a preacher.
Pauletta and Denzel have renewed their vows in South Africa.
She’s followed by close to 200 people on Instagram, but hasn’t uploaded a single picture or video onto the social media network.
Pauletta likes to travel, and has been to many African and European countries with her husband; her dream travel destination is Kyoto, Japan.
One of her favorite actors is Tom Cruise, and some of her favorite movies include “Top Gun”, “The Last Samurai” and “Jerry Maguire”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Pauletta’s age is 72. Her hair’s black and eyes are brown, she’s 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall and weighs around 160lbs (72kgs).
Pauletta’s net worth’s been estimated at over $200,000 as of July 2023, and her husband Denzel’s at over $280 million.
