As a dedicated and trained actress, Paula Wagner walked into her agent’s Los Angeles office ready to discuss her career’s direction. She had been honing her craft since the age of 13 and earned a degree from Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama—where she says she thrived on the “education” of sitting with her classmates in Skibo; talking candidly with renowned dancer and professor Paul Draper about the Hollywood black lists; discussing thought and expression in Gladys Schmitt’s class; or being a part of Draper’s creative senior show that somehow combined tap dance, T.S. Eliott, and Jim Morrison’s music.
When the career actress met with her agent, she didn’t expect to hear, “You know, I think you would make a terrific agent.” After the initial shock wore off, Wagner (A’69) realized that it might be time for a change.
One of the clients she landed was Tom Cruise. She paired him with director Oliver Stone in the 1989 motion picture Born on the Fourth of July. It wasn’t the typical leading role for Cruise, but it led to an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Actor. Wagner clearly knew what she was doing. She and Cruise later formed Cruise/Wagner Productions, whose films include, among others, the Mission: Impossible series.
In 2006, she was named CEO of United Artists; this year, Variety magazine profiled her as one of 12 top entertainment industry executives in its Women’s Impact Report.
She attributes her success to having “a dream, a passion, but not being afraid to change it slightly when the opportunity presents itself.” With all of her achievements, she hasn’t forgotten about her “education.” She serves on Carnegie Mellon’s Board of Trustees. —Melissa Silmore (TPR’85)
