She began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film Christine (1983).

[4] Paul was raised alongside her identical twin sister, Caroline, and younger brother, Jonathan, in the rural town of Cornwall, Connecticut.

[9] At ages 17 and 18, Paul underwent two major abdominal operations to remove choledochal cysts, which left her with a scar spanning from her sternum to her navel.

She later appeared in the sport drama American Flyers (1985) with Kevin Costner, 8 Million Ways to Die (1986), and the comedy Dragnet (1987), opposite Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd.

[13][14] She made a cameo appearance with Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan in a deleted scene parodying her Baywatch role.

Jampacked received a Bronze Apple Award and first place recognition at the EarthVision Environmental Film and Video Festival.

She became a vegetarian at age fourteen after reading the book Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé, and became a vegan in 2010.

At the age of 22, Alexandra co-founded Young Artists United with 21 year old producer and manager Daniel Sladek.

[31] She was arrested twice in 2003 for civil disobedience protesting the Iraq War and spent five days in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center after refusing to pay the $50 fine.

[32][33] Paul's younger brother, Jonathan, is also an animal rights activist, who served 51 months in prison for his role in the arson of a slaughterhouse.

[35][36] Paul was an active member for 9 years of the Santa Monica, CA chapter of Food Not Bombs,[37] where she picked up donations, cooked, and served hot vegan meals to the homeless community every Thursday evening.

She also registered voters sitting at a card table on LA street corners for 2 hours a week from 1989 to 2010 with The First Vote.

[43] In September 2020, Paul and 6 other DxE activists were arrested for trying to rescue a pig from a Farmer John slaughterhouse in Vernon, CA.

In discussing her political activism, Paul said: I am sure there are some who do not like me for my outspokenness and my views, and I totally respect their right to boycott my projects.