Aaron Paul

Aaron Paul has been married to actress and director Lauren Parsekian since May 26, 2013. They met at the Coachella Music Festival and became engaged in Paris in January 2012.

They have two children, daughter Story Annabelle, born in February 2018, and son Ryden Caspian, born in April 2022. Paul's Breaking Bad co-star Bryan Cranston is Ryden's godfather. Paul legally changed his name from Aaron Paul Sturtevant to Aaron Paul in 2022 so that he, Parsekian, and their children would share the same surname.

Paul grew up in Emmett and Boise, Idaho, in a religious household. He participated in church plays and joined the theater department at Centennial High School, where he decided in eighth grade that he wanted to become an actor. He graduated in 1997 and moved to Los Angeles after high school.

In 1996, Paul entered the International Modeling and Talent Association competition, finished as runner-up, and signed with a manager. Before establishing himself as an actor, he appeared in commercials for Juicy Fruit, Corn Pops, and Vanilla Coke, as well as music videos for Korn's “Thoughtless” and Everlast's “White Trash Beautiful.” He also worked as an usher at the Universal Studios movie theater in Hollywood.

Paul appeared on The Price Is Right under his birth name in 2000, shortly before building a career through guest television roles and small film parts. His early screen credits included Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Whatever It Takes, K-PAX, and Mission: Impossible III.

Paul first gained wider recognition as Scott Quittman on HBO's Big Love, appearing in fourteen episodes between 2007 and 2011. In 2008, he began playing Jesse Pinkman on AMC's Breaking Bad, the role that became the defining performance of his career.

Jesse was initially intended to die during the first season. Series creator Vince Gilligan changed the plan after seeing the on-screen chemistry between Paul and Bryan Cranston, who played Walter White, and developed Jesse into a central character. Paul's performance earned him Primetime Emmy Awards in 2010, 2012, and 2014, as well as Saturn Awards and a Satellite Award.

Paul returned as Jesse in the 2019 Netflix film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and appeared in two episodes of the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul in 2022. He also appeared alongside Cranston in an animated The Simpsons episode that featured versions of Jesse Pinkman and Walter White.

Following Breaking Bad, Paul took leading and supporting roles in films including The Last House on the Left, Smashed, Need for Speed, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Eye in the Sky, Central Intelligence, Dual, and Ash. In Smashed, he played Charley Hannah opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead. In Need for Speed, he portrayed street racer Tobey Marshall.

Paul voiced Todd Chavez in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman, on which he also served as an executive producer. He later played Eddie Lane in Hulu's The Path and Caleb Nichols in HBO's Westworld. His other television appearances include Truth Be Told, Black Mirror, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Paul voiced Nyx Ulric in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV and Robert Robertson in the 2025 video game Dispatch. He also voiced Powerplex in the animated series Invincible. In addition to his acting work, Paul and Bryan Cranston founded the mezcal brand Dos Hombres in 2019.