Pauletta Washington

You may know Pauletta Washington as the spouse of the movie star Denzel Washington and the mother of their 4 kids. But she is a classically trained actress herself and has an extensive resume. Read about her husband and their children in “Denzel Washington Family”! And now let’s focus our minds on the family she comes from.

Who are Pauletta Washington parents?

Phairlever Pearson Sr (father)

Date of birth: June 10, 1910

Date of death: March 18, 1999

Pauletta doesn’t share any info about her late father, so it’s not known, what kind of relationship they had. But Pauletta is so focused on her family that we can presume, she came from a friendly family and shared a close bond with her dad.

Phairlever Sr passed away many years ago. The reason for his death was a long-term illness.

He was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, USA. His parents were named Frank Pearson and Laura Barrier. He was a very religious person and a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church.

Phair was married to Arletta DuBois Pearson for almost 5 decades till her death. They raised a son and two daughters, including Paulette.

Arletta Dubois Pearson (mother)

Date of birth: November 26, 1918

Date of death: October 8, 1998

Pauletta’s mother was named Arletta DuBois Pearson. She was born in Leaksville, North Carolina in the family of John Smallwood and Kate Hairston. Arletta joined her duties as a wife and mother of three with active work at school. For many years she served as a Central High School principal. Her son and daughters (including Pauletta) were educated at that school. Arletta was also a faithful person. She was the Past Master of the Masonic Lodge.

Obviously, Pauletta was taught to be pious and faithful by her mother. She taught her four kids to pray, too. Besides, Pauletta skillfully joined her career by running her house, just like her mother. Every day she used to cook breakfast for her children and took them to school.

Pauletta Washington siblings

Phairlever Woodson Pearson Jr (older brother)

Date of birth: December 30, 1940

Date of death: December 22, 2014

Pauletta grew up with a brother, named Phairlever Woodson, whom his friends and relatives called Woody. Surely, her late brother was a great person as many people remember him on social media and tell lots of sweet words about him.

Woody spent his childhood in Iredell County, North Carolina, being the oldest of 3 kids in the family of Phairlever Sr and his wife Arletta.

He was preceded in death by a son, Marcus Fitzgerald Pearson. He was an active and talented student at school, where his mother served as a principal. Woody was not just a brilliant student, but a great athlete. He played basketball and football for the school team. Like his sister Paulette, Woody had a talent for music-making. He played the trumpet.

After graduation from high school, Mr. Pearson continued his education at Elizabeth City State University, where gained a reputation as a talented musician and dancer. Om May 17, 1965, he tied the knot with Polly Ramseur. She was his school girlfriend, and for many years Woody and Polly managed to keep their young love. Their union resulted in 3 talented kids, including Rita Frances Pearson (she later became an actress) and Phairlever Woodson Pearson III. His son Marcus Fitzgerald Pearson died at a young age.

Pauletta’s brother earned his living as a professional baseball player. After he retired from the sports industry, he was hired by General Electric Company and worked there for 28 years.

Woody lost his 2 legs because of an illness, but he remained an optimistic and joyful person. He shared a close bond with each member of his big family. Woody spoke to his sister Paulette on phone every single day.

He passed away in 2014 but is remembered by his family members till now.

Kate Pearson Weaver (younger sister)

Date of birth: circa 1955

Pauletta has a sister, named Kate Pearson Weaver. Kate and Pauletta are very close, like sisters should be.

Kate is married to Rick Randolph Weaver. They reside in Newton, NC. They raised 3 kids, Anetta, Ricky Jr, and Nikki. Her son Ricky was also busy in the movie industry, just like his aunt Paulette. He worked at Moonlighting Film Production Services.

Bio

Although for many people worldwide Denzel Washington is a sex symbol and movie star, for his wife Pauletta he is just a person, who annoys her when he comes home and messes things up.

They met in 1977 in a hotel restaurant. Both were busy at the set of the film “Wilma”, devoted to the life and career of the track legend Wilma Rudolph. Pauletta played one of the track stars Mae Faggs, while he portrayed the main character. They met on Pauletta’s last day on the set, but nothing happened between them at that time.

A year later both were present at the party, arranged by their common friend. Then Pauletta and Denzel were re-introduced and finally noticed one another. The next day both met at the theater hall. Denzel and Pauletta came to see the same play. The actress tells that she came to the same play as her future husband occasionally. But Denzel insists that Mrs. Washington arranged that on purpose. Anyway, they started dating and their romance ended with Denzel’s proposal.

As Pauletta later told in her interviews, Denzel proposed to her 3 times, and she turned him down twice. On the third time she finally said “Yes!” and they did it. Their wedding ceremony was arranged on June 25, 1983. They remain strong since then.

Such a long-term happy marriage is something unusual for Hollywood. Denzel jokes, that the secret of his and Pauletta’s long-term love is the frequent time apart. They spent not much time together because of Denzel’s schedule. They are also very religious and spiritual people. Probably, that helps too.

Pauletta Pearson Washington made her first breath on September 28, 1950, in Iredell County, North Carolina. Her parents were Phairlever Pearson and Arletta Dubois, both late. She was one of 3 kids in her family. She studied at Central High School in Newton, NC.

Denzel’s wife is a talented theater and movie actress. She acted on Broadway in the super popular productions “Sophisticated Ladies”, “The All Night Strut!”, “Jesus Christ Superstar” and many others. She also appeared in big screen movies, among which Rudi Goldman’s family musical “Purlie”, starring Robert Guillaume and Sherman Hemsley. She also gained some kudos as a TV actress with appearances on such shows as “The Parkers” and “Beloved”.

Being the great vocalist, Pauletta recorded the soundtracks to the movies “Philadelphia” and “Antwone Fisher”.