One year after the death of longtime Hallmark star Paula Shaw, fans and friends continue to honor her vivacious, creative spirit and all the memories she created on and off the screen. The lifelong actress died in her sleep in Vancouver on September 10, 2025, The Hollywood Reporter (THR) first reported, several days after her passing at 84.
Two months ago, a memorial service was held for Shaw on July 19 in Big Sur, California, per her website. Now, one year after her passing, EntertainmentNow honors her legacy and shares the Hallmark movies you can still see Shaw in today.
Tyler Hynes Had Hoped to Work Again With Paula Shaw: ‘I Loved Her Dearly’
Before Shaw starred in the first-ever Hallmark series, “Cedar Cove” and more than 10 Hallmark movies in the years after, she worked extensively in the New York theater scene before moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, appearing as a character actor on TV series including “Barney Miller” to “Three’s Company” to “21 Jump Street.” Shaw was also iconic among horror fans, having starred in 2003’s “Freddy vs. Jason” as Jason’s mother, Pamela Voorhees. She also worked as a creative expression coach for many actors.
But in her later years, Shaw found a home at Hallmark, starting with 2012’s “Hitched For the Holidays” and, in 2013, landing the role of Andie MacDowell’s mom in “Cedar Cove.”
Over the years, Shaw became known for her roles as a wise, spunky, and loving grandma in many Hallmark movies. The timing of Shaw’s death came, heartbreakingly, as Tyler Hynes — her co-star in the 2021 Hallmark hit “It Was Always You” — was hoping to include Shaw in his next movie, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” which she helped to inspire.
“I loved her dearly,” Hynes told EntertainmentNow from the movie’s set after her passing, smiling as he recalled, “When we made that movie together (in 2021), she pulled me aside and accosted me and told me aggressively that we must do a movie together. And she was 100% right. And it was that moment, she was the first, that planted that seed in my mind.”
Hynes learned Shaw would not be able to be part of the movie, which was his tribute to actors “of a certain age and caliber,” and co-starred another Hollywood legend, Christine Ebersole. When the news of Shaw’s passing reached Hynes, he told EntertainmentNow from the set, “I had a little, single tear fall down my cheek just thinking about this moment that started with Paula Shaw all those years ago. And now here we are. And I just think it’s a really beautiful thing.”
How & Where to Watch Paula Shaw’s Hallmark Movies
HallmarkIn honor of Shaw’s legacy at Hallmark, we’ve pulled together a viewing list of her projects — all available to stream via Hallmark+, provided here in chronilogical order.
- 2012 — “Hitched for the Holidays” starring Matthew Lawrence and Emily Hampshire, with Shaw playing Theresa Scotti
- 2013 — “Cedar Cove,” with Shaw playing Andie MacDowell’s mom, Charlotte Jeffers, throughout the first season
- 2017 — “Destination Wedding” starring Alexa PenaVega and Jeremy Guilbaut, with Shaw as Grandma Goldie
- 2017 — “Coming Home for Christmas” starring Danica McKellar and Neal Bledsoe, with Shaw as Pippa
- 2019 — “Picture a Perfect Christmas” starring Merritt Patterson and Jon Cor, with Shaw playing Louise Griffith
- 2020 — “Five Star Christmas” starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Victor Webster, with Shaw as Margo
- 2021 — “It Was Always You” starring Tyler Hynes and Erin Krakow, with Shaw as Grandma Vivian
- 2021 — “A Mrs. Miracle Christmas” starring Caroline Rhea, Kaitlin Doubleday, and Steve Lund, with Shaw as Helen Atwater
- 2022 — “The Wedding Veil Legacy” starring Alison Sweeney, Lacey Chabert and Autumn Reeser, with Shaw as Gia
- 2022 — “Wedding of a Lifetime” starring Jonathan Bennett and Brooke D’Orsay, with Shaw as Rose Alexander
- 2022 — “Hanukkah on Rye” starring Yael Grobglas and Jeremy Jordan, with Shaw as Esther
- 2023 — “Round and Round” (Shaw’s final film) starring Vic Michaelis, Bryan Greenberg, and Rick Hoffman, with Shaw as Grandma Rosie
