Born in 1897 in New York City, to Joseph and Eva (née Cohn) Trueman, she had two sisters, a twin, Natalie (Mrs. Sternberg) and an elder sister, Hannah (Mrs. Bottstein). They were raised in Manhattan. Paula attended
Hunter College before gaining admission to the
Neighborhood Playhouse to study dancing. and appeared in
Kiss and Tell, '
For Love or Money and
Wake Up, Darling in the 1940s and 1950s. Her film debut was in
Crime Without Passion (1934). She later played "Mrs. Fenty" in
Paint Your Wagon and "Grandma Sarah" in
The Outlaw Josey Wales (both with
Clint Eastwood). She appeared in
Annie Hall and
Zelig (both by
Woody Allen),
Dirty Dancing, and had an uncredited role in
Moonstruck. In 1978, she played Maggie Flannigan in
All My Children. She appeared as Aunt Teresa in the
Tales from the Darkside episode (2/12 - 1985) "Monsters in My Room" and the dying great grandmother in "The Cutty Black Sow" (1988), series 4 episode 14. ==Death==