Alexandra Paul

Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress, activist, health coach, and former model.

Paul worked prominently in television from the late 1980s onward, perhaps most recognizable in her starring role on Baywatch, from 1992 to 1997.

Paul began her career working as a model in New York City, and later moved to Los Angeles when she decided to pursue a career in acting.

Her first role was in the television film Paper Dolls (1982), followed by a role in the independent Canadian horror film American Nightmare (1983).

Paul began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film Christine (1983).

Paul then landed a leading role in John Carpenter's horror film Christine (1983), opposite Keith Gordon, followed by a supporting role in the comedy Just the Way You Are (1984).

This was followed with prominent roles in Just the Way You Are (1984), American Flyers (1985), 8 Million Ways to Die (1986), and Dragnet (1987).

She later appeared in the sport drama American Flyers (1985) with Kevin Costner, 8 Million Ways to Die (1986), and the comedy Dragnet (1987), opposite Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd.

She walked 5 1/2 weeks on the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament in 1986.

She is best known for her role as Lt. Stephanie Holden in the television series Baywatch from 1992 to 1997.

She has performed in a total of over 100 movies and television programs.

Paul was born in New York City to Sarah, a social worker from England, and Mark Paul, an American investment banker.

Paul was raised alongside her identical twin sister, Caroline, and younger brother, Jonathan, in the rural town of Cornwall, Connecticut.

According to Paul, her mother was "a very liberal Democrat and [her] father was a very conservative Republican."

Her twin sister Caroline has been a San Francisco firefighter (where she is often mistaken as Alexandra) and best-selling author.

Her brother, Jonathan, is an animal rights activist.

Paul attended the Cornwall Consolidated School, and the Groton School in Massachusetts.

At ages 17 and 18, Paul underwent two major abdominal operations to remove choledochal cysts, which left her with a scar spanning from her sternum to her navel.

Paul was accepted into Stanford University, but chose not to attend so that she could focus on an acting career.

She also starred in the films Death Train (1993) and Nightwatch (1995) opposite Christopher Lee and Pierce Brosnan, as well as the horror films The Paperboy (1994) and Spectre (1996).

As an athlete, Paul raced the Hawaii Ironman in 1997.

Since 1999, she has starred in 15 films for Lifetime Network.

She has also starred in the Fox TV series Fire Company 132 and appeared in the last eight episodes of Melrose Place.

Paul has been married to Ian Murray since 2000.

She ran the 2000 Boston Marathon.

She guest-starred on Mad Men in 2008.

She hosted non-fiction TV shows, including WE's Winning Women and a southern California local environmentalism show, Earth Talk Today.

She made a cameo appearance with Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan in a deleted scene parodying her Baywatch role.

She did a cameo in the comedy spoofs Spy Hard and Sharknado: The 4th Awakens.

She became a vegetarian at age fourteen after reading the book Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé, and became a vegan in 2010.

She has also swum the 11 mile Fiji Swim, the 12.5 mile Swim Around Key West and the 2014 Reto Acapulco 14 mile swim, among others.

In 2015, Paul won Indie Series' Best Supporting Actress in a comedy webseries.

Paul co-wrote and co-produced two documentaries: Jampacked, a documentary on the world population crisis, and The Cost of Cool: Finding Happiness in a Materialistic World.

Jampacked received a Bronze Apple Award and first place recognition at the EarthVision Environmental Film and Video Festival.

The Cost of Cool won a CINE Golden Eagle Award.

She also produced eight PSAs on the benefits of driving electric vehicles for the non-profit Plug In America.

In 2015, Paul became a certified health coach and has her own wellness coaching business.

Paul is an outspoken animal rights, environmental, peace and gay rights activist.

In 2019, Alexandra acted in three movies, among them, ''Escaping My Stalker'.

In 2020 Alexandra appeared in 4 projects, and in 2022 she starred in the independent films Tethered and Baby Steps.