Paula Kent

Paula Kent (born August 9, 1931) is an American actress, model, businesswoman and executive. She co-founded the Redken hair care products company.

She was born Paula Jane Baer [ California State Birth Index, 1905-95 ] in Beverly Hills, California, the daughter of Richard Moorehead Baer [ World War I Draft Registration Cards, June 5, 1917 ] and Lois Evelyn Martin. Her maternal aunt was a dancer/actress named Paula Langlen. [ 1930 Los Angeles Co., CA, U.S. Federal Census, April 7, Enumeration Dist. 120, Sheet 10 A, Page 143 A, line 17 ] Her father was an assistant sound manager for Fox Studios, but later became an accountant. The family moved to Burbank, where she grew up. She met Debbie Reynolds, who became her lifelong friend. Reynolds actually wanted to become a gym teacher while Paula aspired to be an actress.

Paula dropped out of high school, married Donald Arlen Slocum at age 15, became a mother, and was divorced a year and half later. While attempting to find jobs in television, she worked as a gas station attendant and as a secretary. [ Google Books, 1985, "American Women Managers and Administrators: A Selective Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Leaders in Business, Education, and Government", pp. 175-177 ]

While she acted mostly in TV commercials, Kent played Mary Lake in a 1955 episode of the series "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" titled "Buckshot Comes Home". She played a waitress in an episode of "State Trooper" titled "The Choker". She also played a minor bit part as Dino’s Restaurant hat check girl on "77 Sunset Strip" at Warner Bros.

On May 17, 1959, Kent was presented as the Queen of The Congress at the 23rd Annual Congress of Beauty, a costume ball in the Biltmore Hotel 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, Kent handed out preliminary trophies to a parade of models displaying both new styles and new colors for hair. [ "Los Angeles Times", May 17, 1959, "Hair Stylists Intrigued by Latest Modes," p. 2 ] [ "Los Angeles Times", May 18, 1959, "Actress Rules as Queen for Beauty Exhibit," p. 5 ]

As a performer, Kent 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 reactions in her scalp. In 1960, she launched a business career, co-founding with Jheri Redding, husband of her friend, a Southern California based hair care products company, Redken, with an initial investment of $3,000 she received for a Hamm's beer commercial. Within a few years, Redding sold his half of the business to Kent and she had full ownership of Redken Laboratories. [ "Los Angeles Times", April 22, 1979, "Actress' Remake of Shampoo Wins Her Top Role at Redken; Fast Growing Beauty Products Firm Founded by a Dissatisfied Customer," p. G3 ]

In November 1972, John E. Meehan (born ca. 1928), who had been with Redken since 1969 as executive vice-president, was elected president of the company, succeeding Kent, who became chairwoman and CEO. [ "Los Angeles Times", November 26, 1972, "People & Business," p. D17 ] On April 20, 1973, Kent and Meehan were married in Los Angeles. [ California State Marriage Index, 1970-79, Registrar County No. 15260, State File No. 36707 ]

In 1975, Kent had a part in an episode of British TV's "Within These Walls" titled "Remand Wing". Her character was named Susie. She played a character named Ethel Holland in a 1977 miniseries, "Love for Lydia".

As a successful businesswoman, she has received countless awards. In 1977, she was honored as one of "Business Week" magazine's "100 Top Corporate Women." In 1992, she was named one of "Entrepreneurial Woman" magazine’s "Eight Most Powerful Woman Business Owners" and was selected as one of the “Top Fifty Women Business Owners” by "Working Woman" magazine.

In 1993, Redken was sold to Cosmair, Inc., the U.S. licensee of L'Oréal. Kent served on the board of directors of Union Bank (Los Angeles) and the Board of Regents of Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles) and has been chairwoman of the regulatory committee of the Economic Development Commission of California. She is president of her own investment company, handles her extensive real estate holdings and is chairwoman and president of Kenquest, Inc. and Timequest, Inc.

Paula Kent Meehan lives in Beverly Hills, California.

References

External links

* [http://www.todaysplanet.com/pg/beta/bhcourier1/meehan.htm "The Beverly Hills Courier" - Beverly Hills Business - Profile of: Paula Kent Meehan]
* [http://www.northwood.edu/aboutus/honorees/dw/?year=1996&id=685 Northwood University - Distinguished Women Award (1996) - Paula Kent Meehan]
*imdb name|id=0448825|name=Paula Kent