Represented by: Erika Slezak (1997-present)

VITAL STATISTICS

Appearances: 1997-present

Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Cardwell

Siblings: Mary Cardwell

Children: Ryan Moriani; Tim, Molly, Sarah, and Jason Fisher

Grandchildren: Travis Fisher, Spencer Ragan, Samantha Fisher, Christian Taylor, Caleb Taylor, Victoria Gray, Billy Fisher, and Sophie Fisher

Great-grandchildren: Peter Ragan

Relationships: Widowed by Bill Fisher. Once had an affair with Stan Lincoln.

SUMMARY

As a young woman, Paula met and fell in love with Bill Fisher. However, their engagement nearly fell apart when, during a rough period, Paula had an affair with rough-around-the-edges Stan Lincoln and became pregnant. Although Paula and Bill eventually reunited and married, she always carried the pain of having given up her first child for adoption. The existence of that child was a closely guarded secret for many years.

Paula and Bill had four children: Tim, Molly, Sarah, and Jason. While Bill strove to open his own restaurant, Paula worked as a stay-at-home parent, managing their busy household. When their children were grown, the existence of their older half-sibling became known — and tensions only increased when it turned out that Ryan Moriani, who’d been raised by mobster Nick Moriani, was that child. Paula and Bill’s marriage was again fractured, especially as Ryan and Tim feuded, but they managed to repair their relationship once again. Paula worked hard to develop a relationship with Ryan, and eventually did, despite his constant pull back toward Nick’s dangerous lifestyle.

She was devastated when Philip Ragan, a.k.a. the Footprint Killer, murdered both Ryan and Bill. Paula shot Philip dead but fainted and blocked it out; Molly stood trial for the crime, and Paula only remembered the truth as Molly was about to be convicted. She raced into the courtroom and confessed. Her family rallied around her when she was sentenced to a year of house arrest for killing Philip; she regained her freedom in the spring of 2018.

In the fall of 2023, Paula suffered a heart attack in court during the custody battle over Gabrielle. She was rushed to the hospital and had surgery; while being treated, she experienced a dream in which she encountered Ryan, Stan, and finally Bill in the afterlife. Bill urged her to return to her family, and Paula awoke in the hospital and began her recovery.