Biography
Born in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York, and later raised in Closter, New Jersey, Paul LaGreca has led an eclectic life. He started his career with ballet and tap dancing at the early age of 9 years old. He also had the entire Wizard of Oz memorized line by line by the time he was five.
After high-school Paul studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He was spotted by a faculty member who was casting a play, and was asked to play the role of Billy Ray, Jr. in a touring production of "On Golden Pond" and received his Actors Equity card. He received his Screen Actors Guild card with his first commercial for Bubble Yum. He was signed by the reputable Shirley Grant of Shirley Grant Management in New York, and his career began to blossom.
After arriving in Hollywood in 1983, he guest-starred on major network TV shows (Airwolf, Knight Rider, Whiz Kids) and co-starred in several films (Big Trouble, Student Confidential). Paul has worked with some of the industry's greatest talents including, Alan Arkin, Peter Falk, Beverly D'Angelo, Harris Yulin, Timothy Hutton, Amanda Plummer, John Cassavetes, and Sidney Lumet.
His career shifted dramatically in 1985 when he met Mother Teresa (the now Saint Teresa of Calcutta). She invited him to come and experience the life of a missionary. Choosing to make a drastic change, he returned to New York where he entered the seminary of the Missionaries of Charity to explore if he had a vocation to the priesthood. He worked with the poorest of the poor in the slums of New York, but decided, after a time, to leave. He continued his studies outside the seminary, completing his B.A. in Philosophy at Saint Thomas Aquinas College in New York, and later his M.A. in Theology at Seton Hall University.
His memoir, "The Boy Behind the China Cabinet: A Memoir about Addiction, Hollywood, Mother Teresa and Me" was released in June 2020 and won the 2021 Reader's Favorite Gold Medal Award for Non-Fiction Inspiration, as well as winning the 2021 Kindle Award in the Memoir category.
After exploring his life and venturing into new pursuits, Paul returned to his acting career in 2024 and continues to live by the philosophy that life is a great gift with unlimited possibilities.
