Paula Newsome is an American actress. She starred in a number of television series, most notable the ABC police drama '' Women's Murder Club'' (2007–08), and had recurring roles on ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'', ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', '' Barry'', and ''

Chicago Med ''Chicago Med'' is an American medical drama series broadcast by NBC and created by Dick Wolf as the third installment of the ''Chicago'' franchise. It stars Nick Gehlfuss, Yaya DaCosta, Torrey DeVitto, Rachel DiPillo, Colin Donnell, ...

''. She is best known for her supporting role in the film '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021), and her leading role of Maxine "Max" Roby in the CBS

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

series '' CSI: Vegas'' (2021–2024).

Early life

Newsome grew up in Chicago and is a graduate of Morgan Park Academy. She received a bachelor's degree from

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri, United States. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The university has an alumni net ...

’s Conservatory of Theater Arts.

Career

Newsome began having an interest in acting as a child performing in community theater, before moving to New York City. While in New York, she was cast in a number of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

productions. She made her big screen debut appearing in a supporting role in the 1992 comedy film ''

Straight Talk ''Straight Talk'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Barnet Kellman, and starring Dolly Parton, James Woods, Griffin Dunne, and Michael Madsen. The film follows a woman who leaves her small-town life to move to Chicago, where ...

'' starring

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

. She went on to guest star in a number of notable television series, include ''

Chicago Hope ''Chicago Hope'' is an American medical drama television series created by David E. Kelley, that originally aired for six seasons on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000, with a total of 141 episodes. The series is set in a fictional pr ...

'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', ''

Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...

'', ''

Dharma & Greg ''Dharma & Greg'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for five seasons from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002, with a total of 119 episodes. The show starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Mont ...

'', ''

'', '' ER'', '' Heroes'', and ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

''. In film, Newsome has appeared in '' Guess Who'' (2005), ''

Little Miss Sunshine ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road movie, road film directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (in their directorial debut) from a screenplay written by Michael Arndt. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of G ...

'' (2006), ''

Reign Over Me ''Reign Over Me'' is a 2007 American buddy drama film written and directed by Mike Binder, produced by his brother Jack Binder, and starring Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Saffron Burrows, and Bind ...

'' (2007), '' Things We Lost in the Fire'' (2007), ''Thinspiration'' (2014), ''

Black or White "Black or White" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from Jackson's eighth studio album, '' Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced the track with rec ...

'' (2014) and '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021). Newsome was a regular cast member in a number of short-lived television series. First, she co-starred alongside

Mark Feuerstein Mark Feuerstein (; born June 8, 1971) is an American actor. He had an early, recurring role on the NBC sitcom ''Caroline in the City'', playing the title character's boyfriend, and later gained notice in a guest appearance on an episode of Sex ...

and

Lauren Graham Lauren Helen Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American Actor, actress and author. She is best known for portraying Lorelai Gilmore on The WB series ''Gilmore Girls'', for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – ...

in the NBC sitcom '' Conrad Bloom'' (1998). In 2003, she appeared in the NBC legal drama ''

The Lyon's Den ''The Lyon's Den'' is a 2003 American legal drama television series. Set in Washington, D.C., it stars Rob Lowe as a lawyer named Jack Turner, who has been newly appointed as partner of a long-established law firm that, as the plot revealed, harb ...

'' starring

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...

. From 2007 to 2008, she starred alongside

Angie Harmon Angela Michelle Harmon (born August 10, 1972) is an American actress and model. She won ''Seventeens modeling contest in 1987 at age 15, signed with IMG Models, and appeared on covers for magazines such as ''Cosmopolitan'' and ''Esquire''. ...

Laura Harris Laura Elizabeth Harris (born November 20, 1976"Close-up: Laura Harris" by Jay Bobbin, ''Chicago Tribune'' (16 Dec, 2007) Retrieved from ) is a Canadian actress who has appeared in a variety of roles in movies and on television. She may be best ...

and

Aubrey Dollar Aubrey Dollar is an American actress. She is known for playing Marina Cooper on the CBS daytime soap opera ''Guiding Light'' from 2001 to 2004. Dollar has also starred in the television series '' Point Pleasant'' (2005–2006), '' Women's Murde ...

in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

police drama '' Women's Murder Club'' playing medical examiner Claire Washburn. The following years, she returned to playing guest-starring roles, appearing on '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'', ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'', '' Parenthood'', ''

FlashForward A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward, and more formally known as prolepsis) is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards a ...

'', ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliot ...

'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'', '' Suits'', ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'', and most notably ''

How to Get Away with Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal drama thriller television series that premiered on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk and pro ...

'' opposite

Viola Davis Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...

, for which she received positive reviews. She also had recurring roles on '' City of Angels'', ''

'', and ''

Suburgatory ''Suburgatory'' is an American television sitcom created by Emily Kapnek that aired on ABC from September 28, 2011, to May 14, 2014. The series originally aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30 Central following '' The Middle''. The title is a ...

''. In 2018 she appeared as Detective Moss in the first season of HBO's '' Barry''. In her '' Hello! magazine'' interview she said: "My life took a huge turn after the HBO comedy Barry because Hollywood saw this show where I was allowed to play a role that I absolutely loved; Detective Janice Moss was funny, she was poignant, and finally Hollywood was like, Wait a minute, get her, get her! But I'd been doing that work for years!" In 2019, Newsome appeared in 12 episodes of ''

'' as Caroline Charles, ex-wife of Dr. Daniel Charles, Chief of Psychiatry, and mother of Robin Charles. She also played Jackie Vance in the CBS series ''

'' from 2009-2013 In 2021, Newsome was cast in the leading role of Maxine "Max" Roby in the CBS crime drama series, '' CSI: Vegas''. The series was canceled after three seasons in 2024.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newsome, Paula 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Actresses from Chicago Webster University alumni 20th-century African-American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 1961 births