Paula Prentiss can be regarded as one of the few living legends who still walk amongst men. With a career spanning well over five decades, Paula Prentiss has been able to establish herself as a foremost actress in Hollywood. Her superb performances in films like Where the Boys Are, The Black Marble, In Harm’s Way, The Stepford Wives and also in popular American sitcom He & She, contributed in securing a place for her in the hearts and minds of many.
Paula Prentiss’ Bio, Age
The American actress was born on March 4, 1938, in San Antonio, Texas. Her parents Paulene and Thomas J. Ragusa named her Paula Ragusa at birth. Despite the fact that she was born in America, Paula is also of Silician descent by virtue of her father having Silician roots. Her father, Thomas, was known to have been a professor at a Catholic established university in San Antonio.
Prentiss was enrolled at Lamar High School located in Houston which is the most populous city in the state of Texas. She had a reputation of being the tallest person among her classmates back then in high school with a height of 5ft 10in which is equivalent to about 1.78m. After completing her high school education, Paula Prentiss decided to pursue a degree in Drama at the privately-owned Northwestern University, which was primarily based in the state of Illinois with other campuses and facilities in major cities across America and in Doha, Qatar.
During her time at Northwestern University, two major events occurred in her life. One of the events happened in 1958 which led to her getting acquainted with Richard Benjamin, the man who later became a popular actor and film director and whom she later got married to. The second significant event was that it was while at the university that Paula was scouted out and offered a professional movie contract by the popular media outlet, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Paula Prentiss was launched into the world of acting in 1960 with the film, Where the Boys Are. The film in which she starred as Tuggle alongside actor Jim Hutton was a huge success. MGM took a decision to keep the momentum by allowing the duo to feature alongside each other in three other movies – Bachelor in Paradise, The Honeymoon Machine and in The Horizontal Lieutenant.
The talented actress was featured in several movies outside of MGM, some of which include Man’s Favorite Sport (1963), The World of Henry Orient (1964), Looking for Love (1964) which also starred Connie Francis and In Harm’s Way (1965). She was also featured in As You Like It which was a production of a play by William Shakespeare.
Prentiss got married to her high school sweetheart, Richard Benjamin, on October 26, 1961. They have both appeared together on a number of films and plays. Popular among them is the famous He & She sitcom, Saturday the 14th, Catch-22 and No Room to Run. She got an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in He & She. Their union was blessed with two children – Ross and Prentiss.
Net Worth
The Emmy Award nominee’s net worth has been a bone of contention for quite some time. Many persons have encountered some difficulty in placing a value on her wealth. According to some sources, Paula Prentiss is believed to have a net worth of $15 million. The source of her fortune can be traced to proceeds gotten from her over 50 years of acting.
Sister
Ann Prentiss was the only known sister of Paula Prentiss. She was born November 27, 1939, and was christened Ann Elizabeth Ragusa. Ann, up until her death, was also an actress featuring in many movies and TV series. She died on January 12, 2010, in L.A California at the age of 70.
Where is Paula Prentiss?
The question of where the popular actress has been or where she is now has been a lingering one. Following a 30-year absence from featuring in films which started counting from 1986, Prentiss made a surprise comeback in 2016 appearing in a horror film directed by Osgood Perkins titled I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. After that appearance, she has not been seen in any movie or T.V show ever since. It is believed that the career of the veteran is finally coming to an end, although no official announcements have been made with respect to that.
