Dona Paula (17 February 1823 – 16 January 1833) was a princess of the Empire of Brazil and thus, a member of the Brazilian branch of the Portuguese House of Braganza. Her parents were Emperor Dom Pedro I, the first ruler of an independent Brazil, and Archduchess Leopoldina of Austria. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Paula was the couple's third child; she lost her mother at the age of three and her father at the age of eight, when he abdicated and left Brazil for Portugal, where he wanted to restore the throne of Paula's eldest sister, Maria da Glória, who should have become queen regnant of Portugal.

After her mother's death, Paula and her siblings were mainly raised by a slave, a wet-nurse and a statesman whom Pedro I had appointed to take care of his five children. Paula and her siblings were present when her father married his second wife, Amélie de Beauharnais, who eventually became like a mother to the children. After her father abdicated and left, the children were left alone in Brazil, as his father took with him Amélie; the two had a daughter abroad. Paula became severely ill in late 1832 and died in early 1833, at the age of nine. She was buried, at her father's request, in Rio de Janeiro.

Paula was born on 17 February 1823 at the Paço de São Cristóvão in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian capital; one week later, the princess was baptized Paula Mariana Joana Carlota Faustina Matias Francisca Xavier de Paula Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga by , at the Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro. The last four names were always bestowed on members of the royal family and the name Paula honored São Paulo, where the independence (see below) had been signed.

She was the third daughter of Emperor Dom Pedro I and his first wife Archduchess Leopoldina of Austria. Through her father, she was a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza, which was an illegitimate branch of the Capetian dynasty. She was thus a granddaughter of João VI. Through her mother, she was a niece of Napoleon and a first cousin of Franz Joseph I of Austria. As the daughter of a member of the ruling Portuguese royal house, Paula was referred to by the honorific Dona (Lady) from birth.

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