Brenda Dean Paul

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 actress, socialite, and "Bright Young Thing" in the 1920s. Her use of illegal drugs landed her in court and in the tabloid press of the day. She served time in Holloway Prison 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, the daughter of the Polish violin virtuoso Henryk Wieniawski. 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 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", and socialised with such celebrities as Evelyn Waugh and Cecil Beaton at the group's fancy dress parties.