Paula Wagner

Who Is Paula Wagner?

Paula Wagner is an American film producer, talent agent, and studio executive. After beginning her professional career in Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatre, she joined Creative Artists Agency as one of the first female agents, where she represented major entertainment talent including Tom Cruise.

Her career spans five decades. It spans acting, agenting, producing, and studio leadership. Most importantly, it spans a relentless pursuit of great storytelling.

Wagner has worked in the top ranks of the entertainment industry as a talent agent, film producer, and studio executive. She develops and produces film, theatre, and television projects through her production company Chestnut Ridge Productions.

She is, without question, one of the most influential women in Hollywood history.

Early Life: Ohio Roots and a Spark for the Stage

Born in Youngstown, Ohio

Paula Wagner was born Paula Sue Kauffman on December 12, 1946, in Youngstown, Ohio. Her mother, Sue Anna (née Shofstall), was a news magazine editor from Oklahoma. Her father, Edmund Jamison “Ned” Kauffman Jr., was a business owner.

Her father was also a World War II fighter pilot and steel industrialist. Therefore, ambition and resilience were built into her foundation from the very start.

A Dream That Led Her to Carnegie Mellon

Drawn to acting from an early age, Wagner left the Midwest after high school to study drama at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University.

She earned her BFA at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Carnegie Mellon’s prestigious drama program gave her both technical training and an artistic vision that would serve every stage of her career.

Yale Repertory and the New York Stage

She began her career as an actress, appearing in several Broadway and Off-Broadway stage productions. Wagner also performed at the Yale Repertory Theatre.

In her early career in New York, Wagner played several ensemble parts in the 1971 production of Lenny (the play). Her first marriage, to the set designer Robin Wagner, brought her into the industry’s A-list circles. She was at Robin’s side when director Michael Bennett shared ideas for A Chorus Line.

This immersion in New York’s most creative circles gave her an instinct for great material. Furthermore, it gave her a network that would later prove invaluable.

A Published Playwright

In addition to being an actress, she is also a published playwright, co-writing the feminist play Out of Our Father’s House.

The play was based on the lives and struggles of six iconic women, with Gertrude Stein and Eliza Southgate among them. A taped production starring Dianne Weist and Carol Kane aired as an installment of Great Performances on PBS. This creative achievement underscored her range as a storyteller far beyond the stage.

The Agent Years: Fifteen Years at CAA’s Pinnacle

Moving to Los Angeles and Joining CAA

In 1977, she moved to Los Angeles after a period of relative inactivity in her acting career. Her own agent suggested that she try her hand at becoming an agent herself, believing that she had the necessary instincts for the profession. Two years later, Wagner joined CAA, one of the most successful agencies in the city at the time.

She joined CAA as one of its earliest female agents. That alone was groundbreaking.

Representing Hollywood’s Elite

Wagner was a talent agent at Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, spending 15 years representing some of the top Hollywood actors. Her clients included Tom Cruise, Sean Penn, Oliver Stone, Val Kilmer, Demi Moore, Liam Neeson, Robert Towne, and Kathryn Bigelow.

Her skill extended beyond simply signing clients. She paired Oliver Stone with Cruise for Born on the Fourth of July, paired Val Kilmer with Stone on The Doors, and helped him cast JFK.

Additionally, Wagner reflected on her experience as a female agent: “Your negotiating skills have to be more developed than a man’s. You need to understand football, basketball, and baseball terms, which are used a lot in this business.”

These were not empty words. They were hard-won wisdom from a woman who earned her seat at the table every single day.

Cruise/Wagner Productions: Building a Blockbuster Empire

The Partnership That Changed Hollywood (1993)

In 1993, she began a new phase of her career as a producer when she launched Cruise/Wagner Productions with Tom Cruise, her former CAA client.

The first film released under the C/W banner was the international hit Mission: Impossible. The success of that film brought the company the 1997 Nova Award for Most Promising Producers in Theatrical Motion Pictures.

That award was just the beginning.

A Decade of Acclaimed Films

For more than a decade, C/W produced critically acclaimed films with international appeal, including the Mission: Impossible franchise films I, II, and III, Without Limits, The Others, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, and Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, which Wagner executive produced.

Together, she and Cruise garnered critical accolades, several awards, and literally billions of dollars in box office receipts.

Moreover, C/W also guided films such as Shattered Glass, Narc, Ask the Dust, and Elizabethtown — a diverse portfolio that reflected Wagner’s commitment to quality storytelling across genres.

Mission: Impossible — The Franchise That Defined an Era

The Mission: Impossible franchise is the crown jewel of the Cruise/Wagner legacy. Wagner produced the first three films of the series — each a global phenomenon. Her ability to marshal complex productions involving massive budgets, A-list talent, and international locations marked her as a rare producing force in Hollywood.

United Artists: Making History as CEO

Taking the Helm at a Legendary Studio (2006)

On November 2, 2006, MGM announced that Wagner and Cruise acquired a small stake in United Artists. Wagner was named CEO, while Cruise would serve as a producer. The announcement came after Sumner Redstone terminated Cruise’s association with Paramount Pictures.

This was a historic moment. Wagner became one of the very few women to serve as the chief executive of a major Hollywood studio.

Films Released Under Her Leadership

During her tenure, UA released the Robert Redford political thriller Lions for Lambs and the World War II thriller Valkyrie.

Outside of their duties at UA, the Cruise/Wagner banner also delivered The Eye (2008) and the road rage exploitation remake Death Race (2008), co-produced with Roger Corman.

Departure and Legacy

Just before the premiere of Valkyrie, Wagner announced that she was leaving her position as chief executive at United Artists to pursue projects independently.

Her two-year tenure at United Artists nonetheless cemented her legacy as a studio executive who was willing to take bold creative risks.

Chestnut Ridge Productions: A New Chapter

Building a New Independent Vision

Following her departure from United Artists in 2008, Paula Wagner established Chestnut Ridge Productions as an independent entity dedicated to developing and producing content across film, theater, and television. The company, headquartered in Los Angeles, emphasized creative control in selecting and advancing projects.

She develops and produces film, theatre, and television projects through Chestnut Ridge Productions (CRP).

Marshall (2017): A Critically Acclaimed Comeback

Chestnut Ridge’s notable film output includes the 2017 legal drama Marshall, which Wagner produced. It chronicled a pivotal early case in Thurgood Marshall’s career, starring Chadwick Boseman in the lead role.

She most recently produced the critically acclaimed film Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, and Kate Hudson. The film was widely praised for its powerful storytelling and Boseman’s riveting performance.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

Wagner also served as executive producer on Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016), the sequel to the 2012 adaptation of Lee Child’s novels, featuring Tom Cruise reprising his role.

Projects in Development

Currently, Wagner is developing a biographical feature on John Fogerty from Creedence Clearwater Revival, as well as two West End productions: an adaptation of Stanley Kramer’s High Noon written by Eric Roth and directed by Michael Arden — which will mark the first western drama to go to Broadway in over 83 years — and a stage version of The Others.

Additionally, also in development under the CRP banner is Sylvia Robinson: The Story of the Mother of Hip-Hop, which is being set up at Warner Bros., as well as the China/US co-production Moon Flower of the Flying Tigers, an epic WWII romantic drama based on a true story.

Broadway: A Producer Who Never Forgot the Stage

Paula Wagner’s love for the theatre never faded. She has carried it throughout every phase of her career.

Wagner’s Broadway credits include serving as a co-producer for the Tony Award-winning productions of The Heiress (1995), The Last Night of Ballyhoo (1997), and The Graduate (2002). She also produced The Mercy Seat (2002) and The Exonerated (2003). Her most recent Broadway production was Pretty Woman: The Musical (2018), which received mixed reviews but was a commercial success.

Her producing credits for Broadway include the Tony Award-nominated The Heiress, starring Jessica Chastain and David Strathairn, Grace starring Paul Rudd and Michael Shannon, and Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-nominated Mothers and Sons.

Complete Filmography Highlights

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Mission: Impossible	Producer	Nova Award winner
2000	Mission: Impossible II	Producer	Global blockbuster
2001	Vanilla Sky	Producer	Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz
2001	The Others	Producer	Nicole Kidman; acclaimed horror
2003	The Last Samurai	Producer	Tom Cruise; critically praised
2003	Without Limits	Producer	—
2003	Shattered Glass	Producer	—
2005	War of the Worlds	Executive Producer	Steven Spielberg
2006	Mission: Impossible III	Producer	—
2007	Lions for Lambs	Producer (UA)	Robert Redford, Meryl Streep
2008	Valkyrie	Producer (UA)	Bryan Singer; Tom Cruise
2008	Death Race	Producer	—
2008	The Eye	Producer	Jessica Alba
2016	Jack Reacher: Never Go Back	Executive Producer	Tom Cruise
2017	Marshall	Producer	Chadwick Boseman

Awards and Honors

Wagner was honored at the Deauville American Film Festival in 2012. She was one of the recipients of the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards in 2016, and the Cameraimage Producer with Unique Visual Sensitivity Award in 2017.

Wagner’s achievements have also been recognized with Premier magazine’s Women in Hollywood Icon Award and the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Organization’s Sherry Lansing Award. She was featured in Bravo’s Women on Top, a documentary profiling exceptional women in entertainment.

The first Cruise/Wagner film, Mission: Impossible, brought the company the 1997 Producers Guild of America Nova Award for Most Promising Producers in Theatrical Motion Pictures.

Academic Contributions: Teaching the Next Generation

Paula Wagner does not just make films. She shapes the next generation of filmmakers.

Wagner serves on the Board of the National Film Preservation Foundation through the Library of Congress, Film Forum in New York, and Carnegie Mellon University (lifetime member), where she is an adjunct faculty member in the Master in Entertainment Industry Management programme through the Heinz College.

She is a member of the American Cinematheque’s Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. She teaches a course at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television titled “Stage to Screen.” She is also an adjunct professor at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television, teaching “Practical Realities of the Film Industry.”

Furthermore, she is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Fulfillment Fund, a nonprofit organization that helps underprivileged students attend college. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the National Mentoring Partnership and the American Cinematheque.

Personal Life: Hollywood’s Power Couple

Paula Wagner has been married twice. Her first marriage was to set designer Robin Wagner, which later ended in divorce. In 1984, she married Rick Nicita, an agent and agency executive. They have two children: Jesse and Zachary.

For many years, Rick Nicita and Paula Wagner were cited in the international media as “Hollywood’s Power Couple.” Both were towering figures at CAA — she as a producer-agent, he as Co-Chairman of the agency. Together, they represented the rare fusion of creative instinct and business acumen that defines the very best of Hollywood.