Debra Paget
Biography
Debra Paget, born Debralee Griffin on August 19, 1933, is an American actress and entertainer. She was born in Denver, United States, and is identified as female. Paget’s career includes at least fifty credited roles, and she is recognized primarily for her work in film. Notable performances include her appearance in Cecil B. DeMille’s epic The Ten Commandments released in 1956, and her role in Elvis Presley’s film debut Love Me Tender, also released in 1956. She is additionally remembered for a risqué snake‑dance sequence in the 1959 production The Indian Tomb. The TMDB profile lists her as an actress with a content score of ten.
Career overview
Debra Paget, born Debralee Griffin on August 19, 1933, in Denver, United States, is an American actress and entertainer. Throughout her career she has been credited in fifty acting roles, a body of work that reflects a steady presence in film and television. Paget’s professional name and her early birth name are both documented, and she is identified as female in official records.
Paget is perhaps best known for her performances in two high‑profile 1956 releases. She appeared in Cecil B. DeMille’s biblical epic The Ten Commandments, a film that has remained a landmark of American cinema. In the same year she co‑starred with Elvis Presley in his film debut, Love Me Tender, a production that introduced both the singer‑actor and Paget to a wide audience. Three years later, she gained additional notice for a notably risqué snake‑dance sequence in the 1959 adventure The Indian Tomb, a scene that was highlighted for its daring choreography at the time.
Her career, as recorded in public databases, emphasizes these signature roles while noting a broader catalog of fifty credited appearances. The information available confirms her status as an actress and entertainer whose most recognizable work dates from the mid‑1950s, with a lasting association to the films that defined that period.
Ask the Vault
Ask anything about Debra Paget.
Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- Elvis: A Life in Music (2026) as Self (archive footage)
- The Dark, Debra (2020) as Debra Paget
- Debra Paget, For Example (2016)
- René Deltgen – Der sanfte Rebell (2008) as Self(archive footage) (uncredited)
- Elvis Through the Years (2007) as Self (archive footage)
- The Making of The Ten Commandments (2003) as Self (archive footage)
- This Is Elvis (1981) as Cathy Reno (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti (1977) as Self - Shila - Cleopatra's Daughter (archive footage)
- Burke's Law (1963) as Juliet
- Burke's Law (1963) as Helen Harper
- The Haunted Palace (1963) as Ann Ward
- Tales of Terror (1962) as Helene ("The Case of M. Valdemar")
- Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961) as Linda Marlow
- Rome, 1585 (1961) as Esmeralda - zingara
- Cleopatra's Daughter (1960) as Shila - Cleopatra's Daughter
- Why Must I Die (1960) as Dottie Manson
- Journey to the Lost City (1960) as Seetha
- Rawhide (1959) as Azuela
- Rawhide (1959) as Laura
- The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1959) as Eve Barnes
- Riverboat (1959) as Lela Russell
- Johnny Ringo (1959) as Agnes St. John
- The Tiger of Eschnapur (1959) as Seetha
- The Indian Tomb (1959) as Seetha
- From the Earth to the Moon (1958) as Virginia Nicholl
- The River's Edge (1957) as Meg Cameron
- Omar Khayyam (1957) as Sharain
- The Steve Allen Show (1956) as Self
- The Ten Commandments (1956) as Lilia
- Love Me Tender (1956) as Cathy Reno
- The Last Hunt (1956) as Indian girl
- The Millionaire (1955) as Mara Robinson
- The 20th Century Fox Hour (1955) as Mary Connors
- MGM Parade (1955) as Self
- White Feather (1955) as Appearing Day
- Seven Angry Men (1955) as Elizabeth Clark
- Climax! (1954) as Maria
- Climax! (1954) as Natalie
- Prince Valiant (1954) as Ilene
- Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954) as Lucia
- Princess of the Nile (1954) as Princess Shalimar / Taura the dancer
- The Gambler from Natchez (1954) as Melanie Barbee
- Les Miserables (1952) as Cosette
- Belles on Their Toes (1952) as Martha Gilbreth
- Stars and Stripes Forever (1952) as Lily Becker
- Fourteen Hours (1951) as Ruth
- Bird of Paradise (1951) as Kalua
- Anne of the Indies (1951) as Molly LaRochelle
- The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950) as Self
- Broken Arrow (1950) as Sonseeahray
- House of Strangers (1949) as Maria Domenico
- It Happens Every Spring (1949) as Alice - College Co-ed (uncredited)
- It Happens Every Spring (1949) as Alice (uncredited)
- Cry of the City (1948) as Teena Riconti
- Beyond Doubt as Woman (archive footage)