Eugenia Paul
Eugenia Paul (March 3, 1935 – May 24, 2010) was an American actress and dancer best known for her role as Elena Torres in the television series Zorro, which aired on the American television network ABC.[1][2]
Paul was born Eugenia Popoff in Dearborn, Michigan of Russian heritage.[1][3] She signed as a dancer with Warner Bros. when she was just 17 years old, while participating on a tour with the American Ballet Theatre and the Ballet Sketchbook television show.[1]
Paul danced in lead roles on screen. She also studied ballet with Bronislava Nijinska and drama and acting under Michael Chekhov.[1] Paul departed Warner Bros. and signed with 20th Century Fox as an actor in 1955.[1]
Aside from the Zorro series, [1] her television credits included Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Medic, The Lone Ranger, Death Valley Days, The Adventures of Jim Bowie and the Playhouse 90 adaptation of The Great Gatsby.[1][2]
Paul's film credits including Lost in Alaska, Man on the Prowl, Apache Warrior and The Ten Commandments.[1] Her last feature film role was in the western Gunfighters of Abilene in 1960.[1]
Paul met her husband, Pep Boys heir Robert "Bob" Strauss, at a Hollywood Bowl party.[1] The couple married and Paul quit professional show-business soon after her marriage.[1] They remained married for 52 years, until her death in 2010.[1]
Eugenia Paul Strauss died on May 24, 2010, at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 75.[2] She was survived by her husband, Bob Strauss, two daughters, one son, and three grandchildren.[1]