Irma St. Paule

Irma St. Paule (March 23, 1926 – January 9, 2007) was an American character actress whose work spanned stage, screen, and television across a career that began in 1985 and continued until her death. Born in Odesa in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, she had a mother of Russian origin and a father from Turkey. While still young, St. Paule relocated with her family to New York City, and after marrying she moved to Chicago, where she enrolled at the Goodman School of Drama — now the Theatre School at DePaul University — to train as a ballerina. Following her divorce, she returned to New York City, later remarking to an interviewer, "By then, my family was mostly gone so I was able to do as I wished. And I did!"

St. Paule came to acting later in life, frequently cast as elderly women, often grandmothers of Italian descent. Her screen career began in 1985 with appearances in The Oracle and Walls of Glass, followed by Psychos in Love (1987) and Rain (1989). She made her television film debut in The Bride in Black in 1990 and went on to portray Ya Ya Andros on the NBC soap opera Guiding Light from 1992 to 1994. In 1993 alone she appeared in three films: The Cemetery Club, in which she played Teresa, Household Saints, and The Saint of Fort Washington. The following year she was seen in Who Do I Gotta Kill?, and in 1995 she appeared in Party Girl, Jeffrey — in which she played Mother Teresa — and 12 Monkeys.

St. Paule made her sole Broadway appearance in 1995, portraying The Strega in a revival of The Rose Tattoo. At the time of her death, colleagues considered her to be the oldest working actress on Broadway. Her Off-Broadway credits included the 1995 Classic Stage Company production of Endgame, in which she played Nell, as well as Another Part of the Forest, in which she portrayed Maria Josefa, Owners, and the 2003 environmental theatre event The Angel Project. Her final stage appearance came in a late 2006 Off-Broadway revival of All the Way Home, where she played a non-speaking role as an elderly woman living in a rural home. Regional theatre credits included Vigil at Geva Theatre Center, 1933 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Enchanted April at the Hartford Stage, Griller at Goodman Theatre, and The Dybbuk at Pittsburgh Public Theater.

Her film work continued steadily through the late 1990s and into the 2000s. In 1996 she appeared in Caught, Love is All There Is, Trees Lounge, The Big Bajoor, and Thinner. Subsequent film credits included Better Than Ever (1997), Kiss Me, Guido (1997), Desecration (1999), in which she played Grandma Matilda, Coming Soon (1999), and Fever (1999). Throughout 2000 she was cast in Wirey Spindell, Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, Where the Money Is, Fast Food Fast Women, Fear of Fiction, and A Piece of Eden. From 2001 through 2004 her credits included Cat Lady, Queenie in Love, Errors Errors Freaks and Oddities, Found Money, Jersey Girl, Second Best, and The Amazing Floydini. Her later film appearances included Homecoming, Duane Hopwood, Bittersweet Place, and Life on the Edge, all in 2005, as well as Satan's Playground, in which she played Mrs. Leeds, and several 2006 productions including 9A, Last Request, In the Blood, and Made in Brooklyn.

On television, St. Paule appeared in episodes of Kate & Allie, Sex and the City, Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Third Watch, Wonderland, Chappelle's Show, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order. She died in New York City on January 9, 2007.