Tom Pauls lives with his family in Dresden, not far from the Blue Wonder.
However, he was born in 1959 in the shadow of Leipzig's Monument to the Battle of the Nations. He grew up just around the corner in the south-east of the trade fair city, went to school, sang in the radio children's choir from the age of seven and took piano and guitar lessons.
His acting talent was discovered early on and so there was only one path for him - onto the stage.
He studied at the Theaterhochschule Leipzig from 1979 to 1983 and earned money for his studies with his first band on the side. Together with his fellow students Jürgen Haase and Peter Kube, he founded the Zwinger Trio.
After graduating, Tom Pauls had his first engagement at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, where he enjoyed success in the role of Mozart in Shaffer's "Amadeus", as Don Cirillio in Goldoni's "The War" and as Ariel in Shakespeare's "Tempest", among others.
Pauls made his first solo appearance as a freelance actor in 1991 with the "Saxon Variations". He developed the character of Ilse Bähnert, the funny widow from Saxony, who has since achieved cult status.
Together with companions, he founded the Dresdner Theaterkahn and the Kleine Burgtheater Stolpen in 1994. He has also made guest appearances on many stages in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
The actor and musician has also worked at the Dresden State Operetta since 1991. His roles include "La Cage aux folles", the frog in "Die Fledermaus", King Bobeche in "Bluebeard the Knight", Paris in "Die schöne Helena" and a splendid Professor Higgins in "My Fair Lady".
He regularly appears on stage with the Elbland Philharmonie Sachsen, the Dresden Philharmonic and other orchestras. And because the Saxon language is his passion, he chooses the "Saxon Word of the Year" every year on the Day of German Unity with his Ilse Bähnert Foundation.
Together with author Peter Ufer, he wrote the books "Das wahre Leben der Ilse Bähnert", "Deutschland, Deine Sachsen" and the biography of the Saxon poet Lene Voigt. Together with Mario Süßenguth, he published the crime novels "Ilse Bähnert jagt Dr. Nu" and "Der Frosch ohne Maske", the declaration of love to his Saxon homeland "Nischd wie hin" and his autobiography "Das wird mir nicht noch mal passieren".
In 2011, he fulfilled his dream of opening his own theater in Pirna, the gateway to Saxon Switzerland.