DEBRA PAGET BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Debra Paget was born in Denver, Colorado on August 19th, 1933 with the birth name Debralee Griffin.  Both of her parents were in the entertainment industry.  Her mother was actress Margaret Griffin and her father was Frank H. Griffin also involved in the industry.

The family relocated to Los Angeles in the 30's so they could all pursue careers in the field.  Her three siblings, Judith, Lezlie and Frank plus Debra all were employed as either cast or crew in Los Angeles. 

At the young age of eight, Paget already got her first job in the industry and by age thirteen was working on stage in a production of, Shakespeare's, "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (1946).  By 1950, Paget was getting parts on radio plays for Family Theater.  She had one known film role in 1948 on, "Cry of the City" starring Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark and Shelley Winters, which was before she even graduated from high school. 

In the 1950's she was offered a contract with 20th Century Fox.  Her first film under contract was, "Broken Arrow" (1950) starring James Stewart and Jeff Chandler.  Her next known film role was in, "White Feather" (1955) with Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter.  Her most well known films were on, "Love Me Tender" (1956) which starred Elvis Presley and Richard Egan and "The Ten Commandments" (1956) starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Edward G. Robinson, Vincent Price, John Carradine, John Derek, Anne Baxter and Yvonne De Carlo in which Fox loaned her to Paramount Pictures.    

Paget was doing very well with her contract with Fox Studios and right next to Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable, the fan mail was coming in in amazing numbers.  However, soon Fox realized that although Paget was quite popular, she could not carry a film alone as being the only major star.  Her last film made with Fox Studio's was, "The River's Edge" (1957) starring Ray Milland, Anthony Quinn and Harry Carey Jr.
 
After her contract came to an end with Fox so was her film career and popularity slowly declining.  She did work on a couple other films but mostly in roles of exotic nature such as a middle eastern harem girl. 

Her final feature was, "The Haunted Palace" (1963) starring Vincent Price and Lon Chaney Jr., which was a horror film and her final television role was on an episode of, "Burke's Law" (1965).  Paget then chose to retire from her acting career and married a wealthy Chinese-American oil executive named Louis C. Kung.

Paget had been married twice before, first to actor David Street in 1958 but only for four months.  She then married Budd Boetticher, a director in 1960, but they were only married 22 days.  Her marriage to Kung did not last either, ending in divorce in 1980.

Paget was seen on television in the 90's, but not as an actress.  She had become very devoted to her Christian faith and hosted her own show, "An Interlude with Debra Paget". 

Debra Paget is currently residing in Houston, Texas.  She was awarded a Golden Boot Award in 1987 from the Motion Picture and Television Fund.
 

Filmography

1963   The Haunted Palace 
1963-1965  Burke's Law
1962   Tales of Terror 
1961   I masnadieri
1961   Most Dangerous Man Alive 
1960   Cleopatra's Daughter 
1960-1962  Rawhide
1960   Why Must I Die?
1960   The Millionaire
1960   Johnny Ringo
1959   The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959   The Man and the Challenge
1959   Riverboat
1959   The Tomb of Love 
1959   Der Tiger von Eschnapur
1959   Journey to the Lost City
1959   Cimarron City
1959   The Steve Allen Plymouth Show
1958   From the Earth to the Moon
1958-1959  Wagon Train
1957   Omar Khayyam
1957   The River's Edge
1957   Premiere Performance
1956-1957  Climax!
1956   Love Me Tender
1956   The Ten Commandments
1956   The Last Hunt
1956   The 20th Century-Fox Hour
1956   The Tony Bennett Show
1955   Seven Angry Men
1955   White Feather
1954-1955  The Colgate Comedy Hour
1954   The Gambler from Natchez
1954   Demetrius and the Gladiators
1954   Princess of the Nile
1954   Prince Valiant
1952   Stars and Stripes Forever
1952   Les Miserables
1952   Belles on Their Toes  
1951   Anne of the Indies  
1951   Bird of Paradise
1951   Fourteen Hours
1950   Broken Arrow 
1949   House of Strangers
1949   It Happens Every Spring
1949   Mother Is a Freshman
1948   Cry of the City