Paula Maxine Patton (born December 5, 1975) is an American actress and producer. She's known for her roles as Daniella Hernandez on BET’s film Sacrifice and its' subsequent series, Brea in Traffik, Laura Price on ABC's series Somewhere Between, Garona Halforcen in Warcraft, Alison in the 2014 remake of About Last Night, Deb Rees in 2 Guns, Jane Carter in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Morgan Alexander in Just Wright, Blu Rain in Precious, Claire Kuchever in Déjà Vu, Angel in Idlewild, and Mandy in Hitch. In 1991, at age 15, she 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 he asked her to dance. According to Thicke, he sang Stevie Wonder's "Jungle Fever" to her as they danced. The couple did not begin dating until 1993 and married on June 11, 2005. She gave birth to their son, Julian Fuego, on April 6, 2010. They announced their separation on February 24, 2014, after 21 years together and almost nine years of marriage. On October 8, 2014, she officially filed for divorce and joint custody of their son. The divorce was finalized on March 20, 2015.
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 5, 1975 (50)
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Actor, also producer
- 25 on Motif · 31 credits in all
What are Paula Patton's films like?
Across their 21 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Motif score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 18
A split, not a type: Light 8 · Serious 6 · Dark 5
A split, not a type: Grounded 12 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 3
Gentle 5 · Charged 7 · Intense 7
Steady 7 · Shifting 10 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 3
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 11 · Relentless 4
Casual 8 · Engaged 10 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 10 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 5
Resolved 13 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 6 of 17 analyzed roles.
Show the 17 rolesHide the roles
- Heraldas Angel Davenport in Idlewild (2006)
- Shapeshifteras Claire Kuchever in Deja Vu (2006)
- Allyas Amy Carson in Mirrors (2008)
- Mentoras Kate Madison in Swing Vote (2008)
- Mentoras Ms. Rain in Precious (2009)
- Shadowas Morgan Alexander in Just Wright (2010)
- Allyas Jane in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
- Heraldas Sabrina Watson in Jumping the Broom (2011)
- Shapeshifteras Deb in 2 Guns (2013)
- Heroas Montana Moore in Baggage Claim (2013)
- Shadowas Heather in The Do-Over (2016)
- Allyas Garona in Warcraft (2016)
- Heroas Laura Price in Somewhere Between (2017)
- Heroas Brea in Traffik (2018)
- Heroas Daniella Hernandez in Sacrifice (2019)
- Heroas Daniella Hernandez in Sacrifice (2021)
- Heroas Faith Mitchell in Finding Faith (2025)
Moods and endings
- Happy7
- Bittersweet12
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Paula Patton's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 19 of their 25 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (6).
Subscription and free streaming for Paula Patton's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
31 credits, 25 with a Motif page; 7 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Finding Faith(2025)
Motif score: 81st percentile of all films
Murder in a Small Town(2024)
Motif score: 41st percentile of all shows
The Devil's Promise (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2022)
Sacrifice(2021)
Motif score: 37th percentile of all shows
Four Kids and It(2020)
Motif score: 20th percentile of all films
Sacrifice(2019)
Motif score: 45th percentile of all films
Traffik(2018)
Motif score: 41st percentile of all films
Somewhere Between(2017)
Motif score: 24th percentile of all shows
Past Forward (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)
The Do-Over(2016)
Motif score: 26th percentile of all films
Warcraft(2016)
Motif score: 66th percentile of all films
The Perfect Match(2016)
Motif score: 19th percentile of all films
Runner (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)
About Last Night(2014)
Motif score: 44th percentile of all films
Baggage Claim(2013)
Motif score: 17th percentile of all films
2 Guns(2013)
Motif score: 67th percentile of all films
Disconnect(2012)
Motif score: 92nd percentile of all films
Motif score: 93rd percentile of all films
Jumping the Broom(2011)
Motif score: 37th percentile of all films
The Talk (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2010)
Just Wright(2010)
Motif score: 48th percentile of all films
Precious(2009)
Motif score: 91st percentile of all films
Mirrors(2008)
Motif score: 41st percentile of all films
Swing Vote(2008)
Motif score: 37th percentile of all films
Deja Vu(2006)
Motif score: 83rd percentile of all films
Idlewild(2006)
Motif score: 55th percentile of all films
London(2005)
Motif score: 50th percentile of all films
Hitch(2005)
Motif score: 67th percentile of all films
Motif score: 88th percentile of all showsReimagined (not in the Motif catalog yet)
Runaway (not in the Motif catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 31 titles, 29 of them dated from 1999 to 2025; peak year 2012.
Biggest box office
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Highest rated
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Film career
Peak 2012 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 13 Motif titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2005Screen debut· Hitch
- 2011First top-billed film· Jumping the Broom
- 2011Career best· Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
- 2017Career best· Somewhere Between
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do Paula Patton's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 48th percentile, the median of all 21; across their 19 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 45th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th10
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 25 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Loved with Detractors1
- Divisive2
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Broadly Agreed3
- Mixed8
Reviewers score the acting 62/100 in their films, across 19 reviewed titles; fans 75, detractors 40. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Paula Patton's work okay for kids?
Across up to 13 Motif titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Paula Patton work with?
People who share at least 2 of Paula Patton's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Juan Antonio shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Juan AntonioShared titles: Finding Faith (2025), Sacrifice (2021), Sacrifice (2019)See all 3 shared titles with Juan Antonio
- Laz AlonsoShared titles: Traffik (2018), Jumping the Broom (2011), Just Wright (2010)See all 3 shared titles with Laz Alonso
- Loretta DevineShared titles: Finding Faith (2025), Jumping the Broom (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Loretta Devine
- Altonio JacksonShared titles: Sacrifice (2021), Sacrifice (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Altonio Jackson
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Melissa KentShared titles: Traffik (2018), Just Wright (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Melissa Kent
- Paul HirschShared titles: Warcraft (2016), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Hirsch
- Anastas N. MichosShared titles: Baggage Claim (2013), Jumping the Broom (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Anastas N. Michos
- John DebneyShared titles: Swing Vote (2008), Idlewild (2006)See all 2 shared titles with John Debney
Producers
- Charles RovenShared titles: Warcraft (2016), Idlewild (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Roven
- Queen LatifahShared titles: The Perfect Match (2016), Just Wright (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Queen Latifah
- Shakim CompereShared titles: The Perfect Match (2016), Just Wright (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Shakim Compere
