A famous photographer whose photographs “had been some of the most sought after” of the 1970s, she was Mia’s instructor in college and, eventually, her mentor and closest confidante in New York City. She and her partner Mal invited Mia to weekly dinners at their loft, which Mia began to see as a utopia where “everything [is] worth looking at more closely.” Pauline fell ill with brain cancer shortly after Pearl’s birth, and died within weeks. She left in Mia’s possession a series of photographs she’d taken of Pearl and Mia during their final visit, with a note that explains that Anita, the gallerist who sells her work, would sell the photos for Mia to assist with her finances, and would take Mia on as a client, too, whenever she felt ready. Pauline’s continued influence on Mia as a friend and an artist inspires Mia “with each shutter click.”