Early life

Prentiss was born Paula Ragusa in San Antonio, Texas, the daughter of Paulene (née Gardner) and Thomas J. Ragusa, a Social Sciences professor at San Antonio's University of the Incarnate Word, who was of Sicilian descent.

Before high school, Paula, who grew to 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), was always the tallest person in class. She attended Lamar High School in Houston, Texas. In 1958 while studying drama at Northwestern University, she met future husband Richard Benjamin, who impressed her with his sophistication and height (he was taller than she was). While attending Northwestern she was discovered by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was offered a film contract.

Career

Prentiss first became known as a comedic actress in the early 1960s with such films as Where the Boys Are, The Honeymoon Machine, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Horizontal Lieutenant. In all four films Prentiss was paired with the 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) actor Jim Hutton, as they were the two tallest male and female contract players at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

She continued to star in comedies later with Rock Hudson in Man's Favorite Sport?, in The World of Henry Orient and What's New, Pussycat? with Peter Sellers, in Last of the Red Hot Lovers with Alan Arkin, in Move with Elliott Gould, and in director Billy Wilder's last film, Buddy Buddy, with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. She also appeared in the war films Catch-22 and In Harm's Way, the thriller The Parallax View with Warren Beatty and the horror cult-classic The Stepford Wives, based on Ira Levin's novel.

For one season (1967-1968), Prentiss co-starred with her husband, Richard Benjamin, in the CBS sitcom He & She. Although not a big ratings success, the stylish series was considered ahead of its time in humor and sophistication. Prentiss was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy.

Except for brief cameo roles, Prentiss has not appeared in a feature film for more than 30 years. Although retired from cinema, she frequently performs in theater productions.

Personal life

Prentiss and actor/director Richard Benjamin wed on October 26, 1961. In 1965 while filming What's New, Pussycat in Paris, Prentiss suffered a nervous breakdown which kept her out of films for five years, returning to work with Benjamin in the short-lived television series, He & She. The couple appeared together in such films as Catch-22 (1970) and Saturday the 14th (1981), the TV movies No Room to Run (made in Australia) and Packin' It In, as well as various plays. Benjamin also directed Prentiss in a brief appearance in Mrs. Winterbourne.

Family

Prentiss and Benjamin have two adult children, Ross and Prentiss. Ann Prentiss, Paula's deceased younger sister, was also an actress, and died in prison, having been convicted of threats directed towards her father and brother in-law.

Filmography

Film and Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	Where the Boys Are	Tuggle Carpenter	Laurel Award for Best Female Comedy Performance Nominated—Top Female New Personality
1961	The Honeymoon Machine	Pam Dunstan
	Bachelor in Paradise	Linda Delavane
1962	The Horizontal Lieutenant	Molly Blue
1963	Follow the Boys	Toni Denham
1964	Man's Favorite Sport?	Abigail Page
	The World of Henry Orient	Stella Dunnworthy
	Looking for Love	Paula Prentiss	Cameo as herself
1965	In Harm's Way	Bev McConnel
	What's New Pussycat	Liz
1967-1968	He & She	Paula Hollister	26 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
1970	Catch-22	Nurse Duckett
	Move	Dolly Jaffe
1971	Born to Win	Veronica
1972	Last of the Red Hot Lovers	Bobbi Michele
	The Couple Takes a Wife	Barbara Hamilton
1974	Crazy Joe	Anne
	The Parallax View	Lee Carter
1975	The Stepford Wives	Bobbie Markowe
1977	Having Babies II	Trish Canfield
1978	No Room to Run	Terry McKenna
1979	Friendships, Secrets and Lies	Sandy
1980	The Black Marble	Sgt. Natalie Zimmerman
	Top of the Hill	Norma Ellsworth Cully
	Saturday Night Live	Herself—Host	Episode: Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss/The Grateful Dead
1981	Saturday the 14th	Mary
	Buddy Buddy	Celia Clooney
1983	Packin' It In	Dianne Webber
1992	Murder, She Wrote	Leonora Holt	Episode: Incident in Lot #7
1995	Burke's Law	Carla Martinet	Episode: Who Killed the Hollywood Headshrinker?
1996	Mrs. Winterbourne	Maternity Nurse	cameo
2007	Hard Four	Sweet Cherrie

[ Source: Wikipedia ]