Brenda Dean Paul

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brenda Irene Isabelle Frances Theresa Dean Paul (* 8. May 1907 in Kensington , London ; † 26. July 1959 in London), known by her stage name Brenda Dean Paul was a British silent film - Actress , party or it-girl and Member the " Bright Young People " in the 1920s. Her drug addiction made her cover the front pages of many newspapers, which was very unusual at the time. Paul spent some time in Holloway Prison and rehab to cure her addiction.

biography

Origin and education

Paul came from the upper class of London, her mother was a Belgian-born pianist and composer, her maternal grandfather the Polish composer Henryk Wieniawski . Paul's father was Sir Aubrey Edward Henry Dean Paul, 5th Bt., Her older brother Napier "Napper" Dean Paul. She first played smaller roles in theater ensembles and later went to Berlin to advance her acting career there. But because of the excesses in Berlin's nightlife, she was unable to assert herself in the scene.

"Bright Young Thing"

Back in England, Branda Dean Paul became a fixed star of the young London bohemian , especially in the "Bright Young Things", which included celebrities like Evelyn Waugh and Cecil Beaton . Often the group held disguise or theme parties that quickly became famous. Paul, however, slipped into a morphine addiction that she suffered from all her life. This made her a very popular young woman in London in the mid and late 1920s.

Next life

In February 1932 Paul had to go to court for the first time because of a check forgery. Trials for drug possession and other offenses were repeated over the next few decades. During her stay in Holloway Prison , she began to suffer from bulimia . Paul spent the following years in various institutions to regain her health.

In 1935, the British woman temporarily overcame drug addiction and published her memoirs, written by a ghostwriter . After her acting ambitions finally failed, she fell back again to the addiction disease. In 1939, Brenda Dean Paul was evicted for public nudity. In the years that followed, Paul failed to finally overcome her addiction. In 1957 she lived in a psychiatric clinic in Rome . Brenda Dean Paul died in 1959 at the age of 52. The cause of death was given as "natural".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brenda Dean Paul on writingwomenshistory
  2. ^ "Bright Young People" by DJ Taylor on www.independent.co.uk of October 19, 2007
  3. ↑ Brooke Allen's book review on barnesandnoble.com, February 19, 2009
personal data
SURNAME Paul, Brenda Dean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paul, Brenda Irene Isabelle Frances Theresa Dean (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actress and It girl
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Kensington , England , UK
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 1959
Place of death London , England , UK