Paula Kent
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Paula Jane Meehan (formerly Kent; née Baer; August 9, 1931 – June 23, 2014) was an American
businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...
,
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...
and philanthropist. She co-founded the
Redken Redken is an American hair care brand owned by L'Oréal Group under the Professional Products division. History The company was founded in 1960 by Jheri Redding and Paula Kent, thus the name, "Red-ken." Redken pioneered the "Scientific Approach ...
hair care Hair care is an overall term for hygiene and cosmetology involving the hair which grows from the human scalp, and to a lesser extent facial, pubic and other body hair. Hair care routines differ according to an individual's culture and the physic ...
products company. She briefly worked as an actress and fashion model.


Biography


Early life

Paula Kent Meehan was born as Paula Jane Baer, on August 9, 1931 in
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
.imdb
/ref>John L. Seitz

''Beverly Hills Courier'', December 24, 2004
She was the daughter of Richard Moorehead Baer and his wife, Lois. Her maternal aunt was actress/dancer Paula Langlen (née Ora Pauline Hobbs). Her father was an assistant sound manager for
Fox Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, but later became an accountant. The family moved to
Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...
, where she grew up. Paula
dropped out Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Canada In Canada, most ind ...
of high school, married Donald Arlen Slocum at the age of fifteen, became a mother, and was divorced a year and a half later. While attempting to find jobs in
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, she worked as a gas station attendant and as a secretary.


Career


Acting

While she acted mostly in
TV commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
, she played Mary Lake in a 1955 episode of the series ''
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' is an American Western television series that ran for eight seasons from April 15, 1951, through September 24, 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from June 5, 1955, through 195 ...
'' titled ''Buckshot Comes Home''. She played a waitress in an episode of ''
State Trooper State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction ...
'' titled ''The Choker''. She played a minor
bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...
as Dino's Restaurant hat check girl on ''
77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television Private investigator#PIs in fiction, private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith (actor), Roger Smith, Richard Long (actor), Richard Long (fr ...
'' at
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...


Business

On May 17, 1959, she was presented as the Queen of The Congress at the 23rd Annual Congress of Beauty, a
costume ball A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Western culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or stock char ...
in the
Biltmore Hotel Bowman-Biltmore Hotels was a hotel chain created by the hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman. The name evokes the Vanderbilt family's Biltmore Estate, whose buildings and the gardens within are privately owned historical landmarks and tourist attracti ...
sponsored by the Hollywood Hair Design Council in conjunction with the California Cosmetologist Association, which had a circus theme and entertainment for thousands of beauty operators. With her red-gold hair in a new
style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
, she handed out preliminary trophies to a parade of models displaying both new styles and new
colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
for hair. Paula Kent worked with Al Lapin; Redken tints were at one time actually Lapinal tints. The Lapin Bros., Al, Itzy, Harold and Sam were successful in the business of hair coloring;their salon was on Sunset Blvd., in Hollywood. Lapin Bros. Beauty Schools taught the correct way to color hair using fillers. As a performer, she was constantly having to fuss with her hair, but the shampoos and hair sprays caused her hair to dry out and break, and sometimes triggered
allergic Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic derma ...
reactions in her scalp. In 1960, she launched a business career, co-founding with
Jheri Redding Jheri Redding (born Robert William Redding March 2, 1907 – March 15, 1998) was an American hairdresser, chemist, hair-care products entrepreneur and businessman. Redding is best known for having created the Jheri curl. Redding is credited wit ...
, husband of her friend, a
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
based hair care products company,
Redken Redken is an American hair care brand owned by L'Oréal Group under the Professional Products division. History The company was founded in 1960 by Jheri Redding and Paula Kent, thus the name, "Red-ken." Redken pioneered the "Scientific Approach ...
, with an initial investment of $3,000 she received for a
Hamm's The Theodore Hamm's Brewing Company was an American brewing company established in 1865 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Becoming the fifth largest brewery in the United States, Hamm's expanded with additional breweries that wer ...
beer commercial.Distinguished Women: Paula Kent Meehan, Beverly Hills, California
, northwood.edu; accessed June 24, 2014.
Within a few years, Redding sold his half of the business to Kent and she had full ownership of Redken Laboratories. In November 1972, John E. Meehan (born c. 1928 – died 2004), who had been with Redken since 1969 as executive vice-president, was elected president of the company, succeeding Kent, who became
chairwoman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
. In 1993, Redken was sold to Cosmair, Inc., the U.S. licensee of
L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, sk ...
. As a successful businesswoman, she received countless awards. In 1977, she was honored as one of ''Business Weeks "100 Top Corporate Women". In 1992, she was named one of the "Eight Most Powerful Woman Business Owners" by ''Entrepreneurial Woman'' magazine. She was selected as one of the "Top Fifty Women Business Owners" by ''Working Woman'' magazine. She served on the Board of Directors of
Union Bank of California Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
and was chairwoman of the regulatory committee of the
Economic Development Commission of California An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
. She was President of her own
investment company An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under the ...
, handles her extensive real estate holdings, and later named chairwoman and president of Kenquest, Inc. and Timequest, Inc. In April 2014, she acquired ''
The Beverly Hills Courier ''The Beverly Hills Courier'' is a free weekly tabloid-sized print newspaper of circulation in Beverly Hills and the surrounding communities, and a daily web newspaper. History The publication was founded by March Schwartz in 1965. His staff inc ...
'', a weekly newspaper that covers local news in Beverly Hills, California.


Philanthropy

Paula Kent Meehan served on the Board of Regents of
Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...
in Los Angeles. In July 2013, she donated US$5 million to the
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is a community arts center in Beverly Hills, California, named for philanthropist Wallis Annenberg in recognition for The Annenberg Foundation's major gift to fund the campus. It is colloquially k ...
in Beverly Hills. She was one of the largest donors to the
Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden The Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden is a memorial space in honor of the victims of the September 11 attacks in Beverly Hills, California at the corner of North Rexford Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard/Burton Way. Dedicated on September 1 ...
. She was also a donor to
Childhelp Childhelp is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse. Founded in 1959 as International Orphans, Inc. by Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Childhelp is one of the largest non-profit child abuse prevent ...
, a non-profit organization aimed at preventing child abuse, from which she received the "Angel Award" in 2003, and donated to the
Saint John's Health Center Providence Saint John's Health Center, formerly St. Johns Hospital and Health Center, is a private not-for-profit, Roman Catholic hospital in Santa Monica, California, United States. The hospital was founded in 1942 by the Sisters of Charity of ...
in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
. She also served on the Board of Governors of
The Thalians The Thalians is a charitable organization dedicated to mental health causes.Francesca BacardiThalians to Fete Smokey Robinson at Anniversary Gala ''Variety'', February 20, 2014 It was founded by Hollywood actors in 1955, and takes its name from Th ...
, a mental health charity.


Personal life

On April 20, 1973, she married John Meehan in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. They resided in Beverly Hills, California. She was widowed in 2004.


Death

She died on June 23, 2014, at her private residence in Beverly Hills.Andrew Edwards
Redken Founder, Courier Owner Paula Kent Meehan Dies at 82
''Los Angeles Business Journal'', June 23, 2014.
Her funeral took place at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in
Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...
, where she was buried on Saturday, July 5, 2014.Victoria Talbot, 'Funeral Services Held For Paula Kent Meehan', ''The Beverly Hills Courier'', Volume XXXXVIIII, Number 28, July 11, 2014, pp. 1;
PDF
/ref> During the ceremony, City Council member Nancy Krasne, who served as the Mayor of Beverly Hills from 2009 to 2010, said a few words, and
Ruta Lee Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis; May 30, 1935) is an American actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the musical ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama ''Witness for th ...
, a lifelong friend of Meehan's, sang some of her favorite songs.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent Meehan, Paula 1931 births 2014 deaths People from Beverly Hills, California Actresses from Greater Los Angeles Businesspeople from California American television actresses Businesspeople from Los Angeles Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American women