Paul Gardner grew up in Pasadena and Los Angeles. Stimulated by the concept of contrast he attended the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated from the College of William & Mary in Virginia.
 
He was on staff of the New York Times for seven years as a writer-critic and assistant editor of Sunday Arts & Leisure. In Paris, where he lived for over three years, he contributed theatre-film reviews to the Financial Times of London and worked on film projects with director Claude Chabrol.

He published a William Faulkner portrait within "A Faulkner Perspective" for the Franklin Library; "Lynn," the memoirs of Royal Ballet star Lynn Seymour; "Brooklyn: People & Places," a socio-cultural history of the famous borough; and "Louise Bourgeois," a personal journey into the life of the acclaimed sculptor.