Paula Shaw, the veteran actress known for her roles in Freddy vs. Jason and several beloved Hallmark holiday movies, has died at the age of 84.
Her passing was announced on the website for her workshop, The Max, which she founded and taught for decades. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce Paula passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, at 9:00 am,” the statement read. “Her legacy lives on in the communities she created and the lives she changed.”
The Esalen Institute, where Shaw taught The Max for more than 30 years, also honored her memory in a heartfelt Instagram tribute, calling the course “one of Esalen’s most edgy offerings” and praising her impact on generations of staff and students.
Tributes quickly poured in from colleagues and fans. Hallmark writer Julie Sherman Wolfe remembered Shaw fondly, sharing on Instagram, “We often chatted on Facetime after she filmed Hanukkah on Rye, mostly about our shared heritage (and trying to figure out if we were related!). We never found out, but it didn’t matter. She will always be one of my honorary bubbies.”
Shaw’s acting career spanned decades, beginning when she moved to Los Angeles for the West Coast debut of Gus Weill’s play Geese. She soon joined The Actors Studio under the guidance of Lee Strasberg and became part of the improv group Synergy Trust in the 1970s. From there, her television credits included appearances on The Bob Newhart Show, Starsky & Hutch, Three’s Company, Lou Grant, Ironside, and Barney Miller.
Her film career included a standout role in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) alongside Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton, and later roles in Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia (2002) and the horror classic Freddy vs. Jason (2003), where she portrayed Pamela Voorhees, Jason’s mother.
She was also a familiar face to Hallmark Channel fans, playing Charlotte Jeffers in the first season of Cedar Cove and starring in holiday favorites such as Hanukkah on Rye, Picture a Perfect Christmas, Hitched for the Holidays, A Mrs. Miracle Christmas, and Round and Round.
In addition, Shaw starred as Mrs. Byrne on the Canadian sitcom Mr. Young for three seasons, and made appearances on 21 Jump Street, The X-Files, Supernatural, Van Helsing, and more.
Beyond her on-screen work, Shaw dedicated much of her life to teaching and self-expression courses. In her bio for The Max, she described herself as “a professional actor, a master teacher of acting, and a leader of self-expression courses for non-actors,” and credited legendary teacher Uta Hagen as a mentor.