Paul was born in New York City to Sarah, a social worker from England, and Mark Paul, an American investment banker.^[4] Paul was raised alongside her identical twin sister, Caroline, and younger brother, Jonathan, in the rural town of Cornwall, Connecticut.^[5] According to Paul, her mother was "a very liberal Democrat and [her] father was a very conservative Republican."^[6] Her twin sister Caroline has been a San Francisco firefighter (where she is often mistaken as Alexandra) and best-selling author.^[7] Her brother, Jonathan, is an animal rights activist.^[8]

Paul attended the Cornwall Consolidated School, and the Groton School in Massachusetts.^[9] At ages 17 and 18, Paul underwent two major abdominal operations to remove choledochal cysts, which left her with a scar spanning from her sternum to her navel.^[10] Paul was accepted into Stanford University, but chose not to attend so that she could focus on an acting career.^[11]

Paul worked prominently in television from the late 1980s onward, perhaps most recognizable in her starring role on Baywatch, from 1992 to 1997. Paul began her career working as a model in New York City, and later moved to Los Angeles when she decided to pursue a career in acting.^[11] Her first role was in the television film Paper Dolls (1982), followed by a role in the independent Canadian horror film American Nightmare (1983). Paul then landed a leading role in John Carpenter's horror film Christine (1983), opposite Keith Gordon, followed by a supporting role in the comedy Just the Way You Are (1984).

She later appeared in the sport drama American Flyers (1985) with Kevin Costner, 8 Million Ways to Die (1986), and the comedy Dragnet (1987), opposite Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd.^[12] She also starred in the films Death Train (1993) and Nightwatch (1995) opposite Christopher Lee and Pierce Brosnan,^{[citation needed]} as well as the horror films The Paperboy (1994) and Spectre (1996).

Since 1999, she has starred in 15 films for Lifetime Network. She has also starred in the Fox TV series Fire Company 132 and appeared in the last eight episodes of Melrose Place. She guest-starred on Mad Men in 2008.^{[citation needed]} She hosted non-fiction TV shows, including WE's Winning Women and a southern California local environmentalism show, Earth Talk Today.^[13][14] She made a cameo appearance with Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan in a deleted scene parodying her Baywatch role.^[15] She did a cameo in the comedy spoofs Spy Hard and Sharknado: The 4th Awakens.^[16]

In 2015, Paul won Indie Series' Best Supporting Actress in a comedy webseries.^[17]

Paul co-wrote and co-produced two documentaries: Jampacked, a documentary on the world population crisis, and The Cost of Cool: Finding Happiness in a Materialistic World. Jampacked received a Bronze Apple Award and first place recognition at the EarthVision Environmental Film and Video Festival. The Cost of Cool won a CINE Golden Eagle Award.^{[citation needed]} She also produced eight PSAs on the benefits of driving electric vehicles for the non-profit Plug In America.^[18]

In 2019, Alexandra acted in three movies, among them, ''Escaping My Stalker'. In 2020 Alexandra appeared in 4 projects, and in 2022 she starred in the independent films Tethered and Baby Steps. Since 2019, Alexandra has co-hosted the plant based lifestyle podcast Switch4Good with Olympian Dotsie Bausch. In 2024, their show was named Best Vegan Podcast by Mercy for Animals.

Alexandra and triathlon coach Ian Murray have been together since 1995, and they married in 2000. She became a vegetarian at age fourteen after reading the book Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé, and became a vegan in 2010.^[11][19]

As an athlete, Paul raced the Hawaii Ironman in 1997.^[20] She ran the 2000 Boston Marathon.^[21][22] She has also swum the 11 mile Fiji Swim,^[23] the 12.5 mile Swim Around Key West^[24] and the 2014 Reto Acapulco 14 mile swim,^[25] among others.

In 2015, Paul became a certified health coach^[26] and had her own wellness coaching business for 7 years.^[27]

At the age of 22, Alexandra co-founded Young Artists United with 21 year old producer and manager Daniel Sladek. YAU was made up of young actors, producers, writers and other Hollywood creatives working together to have a positive effect by speaking in schools, raising money for youth organizations and producing PSAs. It was honoured by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Paul is also an animal rights, environmental, peace and gay rights activist.^[9] She walked 5 1/2 weeks on the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament in 1986. Paul has been arrested for civil disobedience over a dozen times at the Nevada Test Site between 1987 and 2000.^[28] In 1989, she was arrested for peacefully advocating on behalf of people with HIV.^[29] She was arrested twice in 2003 for civil disobedience protesting the Iraq War and spent five days in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center after refusing to pay the $50 fine. In 2005, she was arrested for protesting the crushing of the EV1, and performed 80–100 hours of community service for electric car organizations.^[30][31] Paul's younger brother, Jonathan, is also an animal rights activist, who served 51 months in prison for his role in the arson of a slaughterhouse.^[32]

She has traveled to Nicaragua with Operation USA and to South Africa to register voters. Paul volunteered in Sierra Leone with the non profit Population Media Center. In 2006, Paul donated $250 to the Ned Lamont campaign against Joe Lieberman, because Lieberman supported the war in Iraq.^[33][34]

Paul was an active member for 9 years of the Santa Monica, CA chapter of Food Not Bombs,^[35] where she picked up donations, cooked, and served hot vegan meals to the homeless community every Thursday evening. She also registered voters sitting at a card table on LA street corners for 2 hours a week from 1989 to 2010 with The First Vote.

She received the 2014 Vegan of the Year by Last Chance for Animals,^[36] and in 2007 received a United Nations Environment Programme honor for her contribution to overpopulation issues.^[37]

In 2016, Paul joined Direct Action Everywhere in an open rescue of several pigs from a factory farm.^[38] In 2017, she joined a sit-in at an Oakland, California slaughterhouse and was arrested.^[39] In 2018, she was arrested for a civil disobedience action at Sunrise Chicken Farm.^[40] In 2019, she was arrested for peacefully protesting at Reichardt Duck Farm and spent two days in Sonoma County jail.^[41] In September, 2020, Paul and 6 other DxE activists were arrested for trying to rescue a pig from a Farmer John slaughterhouse in Vernon, CA.^[42] In September, 2021, Paul rescued a chicken outside a Foster Farms slaughterhouse and went on trial on March 7,2023 in Merced, CA. She and fellow activist Alicia Santurio were acquitted after a 9-day trial.

In discussing her political activism, Paul said:

I am sure there are some who do not like me for my outspokenness and my views, and I totally respect their right to boycott my projects. I actually respect folks who stand up for their beliefs — even if I disagree with them — more than the folks who do not care, are afraid to 'get involved', or who cannot be bothered. I admire passion and commitment. A woman once told me she could not watch those slaughterhouse videos because she 'loves animals so much' and it would upset her. I would prefer to hang out with a hunter who believes he is doing the right thing, than a wuss like her.^[11]

Film edit

Television edit

• Lechaux, Bleuwenn & Violane Roussel (2010). Voicing Dissent: American Artists and the War on Iraq. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-41580-058-7.

• Alexandra Paul at IMDb
• Official website
• Coaching site