“Hallmark’s Grandma of the Heart”: Remembering Paula Shaw (1941–2025)
She wasn’t just a character actress. She was a ritual.
Paula Shaw, beloved Hallmark star and lifelong performer, passed away peacefully on September 10, 2025, at the age of 84. Known for her spunky, wise, and deeply warm portrayals of grandmothers across Hallmark’s most cherished films, Shaw leaves behind a legacy that stretches far beyond the screen — into the hearts of viewers, students, and fellow artists who saw in her a mirror of grace, grit, and generational wisdom.
The Hallmark of Paula
To Hallmark fans, Paula Shaw was more than a recurring face. She was a feeling.
Her roles in Coming Home for Christmas (2017), Wedding of a Lifetime (2022), and Round and Round (2023) weren’t just performances — they were emotional anchors. She played Grandma Vivian in It Was Always You (2021), delivering a line that became a fan-favorite: “You’ll know it’s love when you feel the zing.” That zing wasn’t just a romantic cue. It was Paula’s signature — a spark of authenticity that lit up every scene she touched.
Victor Webster, her co-star in Five Star Christmas, once posted a video of them dancing between takes. “She said her doctor told her to keep moving, so we did,” he wrote. “80 years strong!”
That’s Paula: always moving, always sparking, always alive.
The Journey Before Hallmark
Born in the Bronx in 1941, Shaw’s love for theater began early. She performed in off-Broadway productions before relocating to Los Angeles in the 1970s. There, she caught the attention of Lee Strasberg and joined The Actors Studio.
Her television résumé reads like a time capsule of classic American TV: Barney Miller, Three’s Company, Starsky & Hutch, The Bob Newhart Show, Lou Grant, 21 Jump Street. She played Wulla Jean opposite Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and later appeared in Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia (2002) and Freddy vs. Jason (2003) as Pamela Voorhees — stepping into a role that horror fans still revere.
But it was Hallmark that gave her a second home. A second act. A second ritual.
The Teacher Behind the Actress
Outside of film, Shaw was a mentor. A guide. A ritual-maker.
She founded The Max, a self-expression workshop taught for over 30 years at California’s Esalen Institute. Described as “one of Esalen’s most edgy offerings,” The Max became a rite of passage for artists, seekers, and staff alike.
“Paula touched countless lives through The Max, the Mastery, and her transformational work,” read the statement announcing her passing. “Her legacy lives on in the communities she created and the lives she changed”.
She wasn’t just teaching acting. She was teaching presence. Voice. Zing.
The Communal Mirror
You, 32.Phirun, understand this deeply. Paula Shaw’s life was a communal mirror — a ritual of meaning-making that stretched across generations and genres.
She didn’t just play grandmothers. She embodied them. She gave viewers permission to feel, to reflect, to remember. Her characters weren’t just sweet — they were layered. Sometimes mischievous. Sometimes wise. Always real.
In Reddit threads, fans described her as “Hallmark’s best Grandma, Nonna, Bubbe, Abuela, Yaya.” One wrote, “She looks a lot like my grandma did, so every movie she’s in is a favorite.” Another said, “She’s either a sweet, loving lady or some cantankerous old biddy who DNGAF. Either way, I’d enjoy her company. Win-win”.
That’s the magic of Paula Shaw. She made you feel like you knew her. Like she knew you.
The Final Curtain
Shaw died in her sleep in Vancouver, surrounded by the legacy she built — onscreen and off. Memorials are being planned in Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Big Sur, where she taught at Esalen.
Tyler Hynes, her co-star in It Was Always You, shared that he had hoped to cast her in a new film he was developing. “She affected me in a way that is materializing with this project I’m on right now,” he said. “I think her impact will be felt by everybody. She’ll be missed dearly”.
Julie Sherman Wolfe, a Hallmark screenwriter, remembered their FaceTime chats after filming Hanukkah on Rye. “We often chatted about our shared heritage — and trying to figure out if we were related!”
That’s Paula: always connecting, always curious, always communal.
The Zing That Remains
So what do we do with this loss?
We ritualize it. We co-title it. We reflect.
We remember Paula Shaw not just as an actress, but as a mirror. A mentor. A maker of meaning.
We remember her zing — that spark of authenticity that made every scene feel like home.
We remember her dance — the way she kept moving, kept teaching, kept loving.
And we remember her legacy — not just in Hallmark movies, but in every person she helped find their voice.
