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Paula Wagner partnered with Tom Cruise to form Cruise/Wagner Productions in 1993. Their first feature under the C/W banner was the worldwide box office sensation Mission: Impossible, in 1996. In 2000, they duplicated that success with the highly anticipated sequel, Mission: Impossible 2.

In 2001, Cruise and Wagner executive produced the Alejandro Amenábar gothic sensation The Others, which won seven Goya Awards, including best picture. C/W's 2002 release of writer/director Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky, starring Tom Cruise, garnered two Golden Globe nominations and an Academy Award nomination. In between the Mission: Impossible bows, Cruise/Wagner produced Without Limits with writer/director Robert Towne, which was ranked as one of the most critically acclaimed films of 1998 by Premiere magazine and included in Time's Top Ten.

In a continuing effort to support new filmmakers, Wagner and Cruise served as executive producers on Narc and, along with Paramount Pictures, championed a release campaign for the film in an effort to bring broader awareness to the tour de force direction of Joe Carnahan and performances from Jason Patric and Ray Liotta. This year, Wagner and Cruise executive produced Billy Ray's directorial debut, Shattered Glass, starring Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Zahn and Hank Azaria.

Currently, Cruise and Wagner are in pre-production on the next installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, for Joe Carnahan to direct, and Cameron Crowe's next work, Elizabethtown, both scheduled to begin shooting in 2004. C/W will then re-team with long-time collaborator writer/director Robert Towne on Ask the Dust, starring Colin Farrell.

In addition to producing, Wagner runs the daily operations of C/W Productions, now in its 10th year. The company has grown substantially since its inception to become one of the most respected entities in the entertainment world.

In 2001 Wagner was honored by Premiere magazine with the Women in Hollywood Icon Award and was featured this year in Bravo's Women on Top documentary profiling top women in entertainment. She also co-chaired this year's Hollywood Film Festival and has recently joined the American Cinematheque's Board of Directors. Previously, Wagner and Cruise were also recipients of the Producers Guild Nova Award.

Prior to producing, Wagner spent nearly 15 years as one of the industry's top talent agents at CAA where, in addition to Tom Cruise, she guided the careers of Oliver Stone, Demi Moore, Robert Towne, and Val Kilmer, among others. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Rick Nicita, Co-chairman of CAA and their son, Zachary, drummer for the up-and-coming band Royal Orange.