Brenda Irene Isabelle Frances Theresa Dean Paul (8 May 1907 – 26 July 1959), generally known by her stage name Brenda Dean Paul, was a British

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

actress, socialite, and " Bright Young Thing" in the 1920s. Her use of illegal drugs landed her in court and in the

tabloid press Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalism, sensationalist journalism (usually dramatized and sometimes unverifiable or even Fake news, blatantly false), which takes its name from the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid ne ...

of the day. She served time in

Holloway Prison HM Prison Holloway was a closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, until its closure in 2016. Hist ...

and had many stints in hospitals in efforts to shake her addiction.

Early life

Dean Paul was the daughter of Sir Aubrey Edward Henry Dean Paul, 5th Bt and the Belgian-born pianist and composer known as

Poldowski Poldowski was the professional pseudonym of a Belgian-born British composer and pianist born Régine Wieniawski (16 May 187928 January 1932), daughter of the Polish violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. Some of her early works were publishe ...

, the daughter of the Polish violin virtuoso

Henryk Wieniawski Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and pedagogue who is regarded amongst the greatest violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were al ...

. Her elder brothers were Aubrey Donald Fitzwarren Severin Dean Paul (1902–1904) and Sir Brian Kenneth Dean Paul, 6th Baronet (18 May 1904 – 5 August 1972). Raised Catholic and educated in convent schools, she went on to play minor roles in touring theatre companies and ventured to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

to build her film career, but she was quickly drawn into Berlin's hectic nightlife and failed her screen test in 1927.

Bright Young Thing

On her return to England she became a fixture of London's bohemian youth culture, "the

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...

", and socialised with such celebrities as

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

and

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...

at the group's

fancy dress 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 chara ...

parties. Following a reported

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

she became chemically dependent on

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

, which led to her lifelong battle with drug addiction and made her one of the most talked-about young women in London.

Later years

In February 1931, Brenda Dean Paul made her first court appearance, having been charged with bouncing a cheque. The following decades saw her in and out of various courts, receiving sentences of up to six months in prison for possession of dangerous drugs, obtaining goods on false pretences, and theft of services (refusing to pay taxi drivers). With each court appearance her name appeared in the papers, which added to her notoriety. In 1932, she was sent to

, where she developed

bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eate ...

, dropping to five stone (70 lbs). Over the next few years she was in and out of nursing and care homes. In 1935, she quit drugs and her ghost-written memoir, ''My First Life'', was published. Her acting ambitions never came to anything and she again fell victim to drug addiction. In 1939 she was evicted from her flat because she "walked about naked" and "answered the door in the nude", and in 1940 she was tried for buying goods on other people's accounts. In the mid-1950s the young artist Michael Wishart, sitting in a restaurant, watched her take a syringe of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

from her handbag and fill it "from a vase of flowers on the table". In 1951, she assured a reporter that she was cured and was preparing to open her own addiction clinic, Brenda Dean Paul profile
elvirabarney.wordpress.com, 11 June 2012. but this was untrue. In 1952, a former flatmate wrote to the police to tell them that she "augmented her income by allowing sadists to whip her". Worn down by addiction but still beautiful, she finally realized her ambition to act when she got the leading role in

Ronald Firbank Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank (17 January 1886 – 21 May 1926) was an innovative English novelist. His eight short novels, partly inspired by the London aesthetes of the 1890s, especially Oscar Wilde, consist largely of dialogue, with referen ...

's play ''The Princess Zoubaroff'' at Dhurjati Chaudhury's Irving Theatre Club, on Irving Street, off

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

, London. Neville Phillips reported “the role of the Princess was played by the always newsworthy, once ravishing now ravaged, oft arrested society blonde lesbian drug addict, Brenda Dean Paul, who, owing to her addiction, was not able to do all the performances, giving the ones she could manage the extra frisson of wondering if the police might burst in at any moment and make an on-stage arrest.”''The Stage Struck Me! A Sort of Memoir'' (Leicester: Matador, 2008), p. 243.

Last years and death

In 1957, she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

with a parcel of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

in her possession. She died in London on 26 July 1959, aged 52.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean Paul, Brenda 1907 births 1959 deaths 20th-century English actresses Daughters of baronets Drug-related deaths in England English memoirists English people of Polish-Jewish descent English silent film actresses English socialites British lesbian actresses British women memoirists 20th-century LGBT people