Nyora kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - Paul Detlefsen akaberekerwa muCopenhagen, Denmark. Akanga ari mwanakomana womumwe chiremba. Akadzidza paChikoro cheArt Institute yeChicago asati aenda kuHollywood kunovaka mukurumbira wake semufananidzo wemifananidzo. Pashure pokunge asina kubudirira somugadziri wemifananidzo, akagadzira zvinhu zvemafirimu. Akasarudzwa pa17th Academy Awards
, pamwe chete nevaaishanda navo John Crouse naNathan Levinson, nokuda kwebasa ravo pafirimu ra1944 rinonzi "The Adventures of Mark Twain". Mamwe mafirimu bedzi aDetlefsen anopiwa mbiri ndeaya "The Horn Blows at Midnight" (1945), "Escape in the Desert" (1945), uye "Shadow of a Woman" (1946), asi akapedza makore 20 kuWarner Brothers Studios, pakupedzisira achikwira kuti ave mutariri wedhipatimendi rezvemifananidzo rakagadzira matte backdrops.