Joanne Woodward
Encyclopedia
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman
. She is perhaps best known for her Academy Award winning role in The Three Faces of Eve
(1957).
, daughter of Elinor Gignilliat (née
Trimmier) and Wade Woodward, Jr., who at one point was vice president
of publisher Charles Scribner's Sons
. Her middle name, "Gignilliat", originates from distant Huguenot
ancestry. She was influenced to become an actress by her mother's love of movies. Her mother named her after Joan Crawford
, using the Southern pronunciation of the name "Joanne". Attending the premiere of Gone with the Wind
in Atlanta
, nine-year-old Woodward rushed out into the parade of stars and sat on the lap of Laurence Olivier
, star Vivien Leigh
's partner and future husband. She eventually worked with Olivier in 1977, in a television production of Come Back, Little Sheba. During rehearsals, she mentioned this incident to him and he told her he remembered her doing it.
Woodward lived in Thomasville until she was in the second grade. Her family relocated to Marietta, Georgia
. They moved once again when she was a junior in high school, after her parents divorced. She graduated from Greenville High School in 1947, in Greenville, South Carolina
. Woodward won many beauty contest
s as a teenager. She appeared in theatrical productions at Greenville High and in Greenville's Little Theatre, playing Laura Wingfield in their staging of The Glass Menagerie directed by Robert Hemphill McLane. She returned to Greenville in 1976 to play Amanda Wingfield in another Little Theatre production of The Glass Menagerie. She had also returned in 1955 for the premiere of her debut movie, Count Three And Pray
, at the Paris Theatre on North Main Street.
Woodward majored in drama at Louisiana State University
, where she was an initiate of Chi Omega
sorority, then headed to New York City to perform on the stage.
Western
, Count Three and Pray
, in 1955. She continued to move between Hollywood and Broadway
, eventually understudy
ing in the New York production of Picnic
, which featured Paul Newman
. The two were married in 1958 after their work together in the film The Long, Hot Summer
. By that time, Woodward had starred in The Three Faces of Eve
(1957), for which she won the 1957 Academy Award for Best Actress
.
She appeared with husband Paul Newman
in ten featured films:
Both appeared in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls but had no scenes together.
She starred in five films that Newman directed or produced but in which he did not star:
and Philadelphia
(1993) in which she played the mother to Tom Hanks
' character, and in television. She appeared in the television films Sybil, opposite Sally Field
, and Crisis at Central High
. She was the narrator for Martin Scorsese
's screen version of The Age of Innocence
.
Woodward was a co-producer and starred in a 1993 broadcast of the play Blind Spot, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie. She was executive producer of the 2003 television production of Our Town
, featuring Newman as the stage manager (for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award
.) She wrote the teleplay and directed a 1982 production of Shirley Jackson
's story Come Along with Me, for which husband Newman provided the voice of the character Hughie under the screen name of P. L. Neuman.
Woodward is the artistic director of the Westport Country Playhouse
.
She recorded a reading of singer John Mellencamp
's song "The Real Life" for his box set On the Rural Route 7609
. In 2011 she narrated the Scholastic/Weston Woods film "All the World".
prior to marrying Paul Newman
. Apparently, however, there was no real engagement: Vidal later claimed it was a stunt to attract Newman's attention. Woodward shared a house with Vidal in Los Angeles for a short time and they remained friends.
Woodward met Newman in 1953. They later reconnected on the set of The Long Hot Summer in 1957. Woodward married Newman on February 2, 1958 in Las Vegas. The couple remained married until Newman's death from cancer
on September 26, 2008. Their 50-year-marriage is iconic since long-lasting marriages between big stars are rare in Hollywood.
Woodward and Newman had three daughters: Elinor Teresa (1959), known on screen as Nell Potts and generally as Nell Newman
, Melissa "Lissy" Stewart (1961), and Claire "Clea" Olivia Newman (1965). They also have two grandsons (Lissy's children).
In 1990, Woodward graduated from Sarah Lawrence College
with her daughter Clea. Newman delivered the commencement address, during which he said he dreamed that a woman had asked, "How dare you accept this invitation to give the commencement address when you are merely hanging on to the coattails of the accomplishments of your wife?"
In 1988, Newman and Woodward established the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp
, named for the outlaws in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
. The eleven camps permit seriously ill youngsters to enjoy the great outdoors, at no cost to them or their families.
Woodward continues to live in Westport, Connecticut
.
for The Three Faces of Eve
. She was nominated for Best Actress in 1969 for Rachel, Rachel
, in 1974 for Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
, and in 1991 for Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
. She was named Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival
in 1974 for her performance in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
.
Woodward won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie, for See How She Runs (1978) as a divorced teacher who trains for a marathon, and in Do You Remember Love? (1985) as a professor who begins to suffer from Alzheimer's disease
. She has been nominated an additional five times for her roles on television.
A popular (but untrue) bit of Hollywood lore is that Woodward was the first celebrity to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
. In fact, the original 1,550 stars were created and installed as a unit in 1960; no one star was officially "first." (The first star actually completed was director Stanley Kramer
's. The origin of this legend is not known with certainty; but according to Johnny Grant, the long-time Honorary Mayor of Hollywood, Woodward was the first celebrity to agree to pose with her star for photographers, and therefore was singled out in the collective public imagination as the first awardee.
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
. She is perhaps best known for her Academy Award winning role in The Three Faces of Eve
The Three Faces of Eve
The Three Faces of Eve is a 1957 American film adaptation of a case study by Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley. It was based on the true story of Chris Costner Sizemore, also known as Eve White, a woman who suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder formerly known as multiple personality...
(1957).
Early life
Woodward was born in Thomasville, GeorgiaThomasville, Georgia
Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...
, daughter of Elinor Gignilliat (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Trimmier) and Wade Woodward, Jr., who at one point was vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of publisher Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
. Her middle name, "Gignilliat", originates from distant Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
ancestry. She was influenced to become an actress by her mother's love of movies. Her mother named her after Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, using the Southern pronunciation of the name "Joanne". Attending the premiere of Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, nine-year-old Woodward rushed out into the parade of stars and sat on the lap of Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, star Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
's partner and future husband. She eventually worked with Olivier in 1977, in a television production of Come Back, Little Sheba. During rehearsals, she mentioned this incident to him and he told her he remembered her doing it.
Woodward lived in Thomasville until she was in the second grade. Her family relocated to Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
. They moved once again when she was a junior in high school, after her parents divorced. She graduated from Greenville High School in 1947, in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
. Woodward won many beauty contest
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
s as a teenager. She appeared in theatrical productions at Greenville High and in Greenville's Little Theatre, playing Laura Wingfield in their staging of The Glass Menagerie directed by Robert Hemphill McLane. She returned to Greenville in 1976 to play Amanda Wingfield in another Little Theatre production of The Glass Menagerie. She had also returned in 1955 for the premiere of her debut movie, Count Three And Pray
Count Three and Pray (film)
Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward and Raymond Burr. It was based on the story Calico Pony Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward (in her film debut) and Raymond Burr. It was based on...
, at the Paris Theatre on North Main Street.
Woodward majored in drama at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
, where she was an initiate of Chi Omega
Chi Omega
Chi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....
sorority, then headed to New York City to perform on the stage.
Early career
Woodward's first film was a post-Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, Count Three and Pray
Count Three and Pray (film)
Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward and Raymond Burr. It was based on the story Calico Pony Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward (in her film debut) and Raymond Burr. It was based on...
, in 1955. She continued to move between Hollywood and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, eventually understudy
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
ing in the New York production of Picnic
Picnic (play)
Picnic is a 1953 play by William Inge. The play premiered at the Music Box Theatre, Broadway on 19 February 1953 in a Theatre Guild production, directed by Joshua Logan, which ran for 477 performances....
, which featured Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
. The two were married in 1958 after their work together in the film The Long, Hot Summer
The Long, Hot Summer
The Long, Hot Summer is a 1958 film directed by Martin Ritt, starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury and Orson Welles...
. By that time, Woodward had starred in The Three Faces of Eve
The Three Faces of Eve
The Three Faces of Eve is a 1957 American film adaptation of a case study by Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley. It was based on the true story of Chris Costner Sizemore, also known as Eve White, a woman who suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder formerly known as multiple personality...
(1957), for which she won the 1957 Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
.
Films with Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
in ten featured films:
- The Long, Hot SummerThe Long, Hot SummerThe Long, Hot Summer is a 1958 film directed by Martin Ritt, starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury and Orson Welles...
(1958) - Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958)
- From the TerraceFrom the TerraceFrom the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Barbara Eden, Ina Balin, and Leon Ames....
(1960) - Paris BluesParis BluesParis Blues is an American feature film filmed on location in Paris, starring Sidney Poitier as expatriate jazz musician Eddie Cook, and Paul Newman as trombone-playing Ram Bowen. The two men romance two vacationing American tourists, Connie Lampson and Lillian Corning respectively...
(1961) - A New Kind of LoveA New Kind of LoveA New Kind of Love is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Melville Shavelson and starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.-Plot:A journalist mistakes a woman for a prostitute...
(1963) - WinningWinningWinning is a 1969 American motion picture starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. A number of racecar drivers and people associated with racing appear in the film, including Bobby Unser, Tony Hulman, Bobby Grim, Dan Gurney, Roger McCluskey, and Bruce Walkup.-Plot summary:The film centers on...
(1969) - WUSAWUSA (film)WUSA is a 1970 drama film, directed by Stuart Rosenberg. It was written by Robert Stone, based on his novel A Hall of Mirrors. The story involves a radio station in New Orleans with the eponymous call sign which is apparently involved in a so-called "right-wing conspiracy". It culminates with a...
(1970) - The Drowning PoolThe Drowning Pool (film)The Drowning Pool is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, and based upon Ross Macdonald's novel The Drowning Pool. The film stars Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and Anthony Franciosa, and is a sequel to Harper...
(1975) - Harry & SonHarry & SonHarry & Son is a 1984 American drama film directed by Paul Newman, who also stars. The screenplay by Newman and Ronald Buck focuses on the relationship between a blue-collar worker and his son, who fails at various odd jobs while aspiring to be a writer. Much of the film was shot in Lake Worth, FL...
(1984)—(directed by Newman) - Mr. and Mrs. BridgeMr. and Mrs. BridgeMr. & Mrs. Bridge is a 1990 Merchant Ivory film based on the novels by Evan S. Connell of the same name. It is directed by James Ivory, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and produced by Ismail Merchant.-Plot:...
(1990)
Both appeared in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls but had no scenes together.
She starred in five films that Newman directed or produced but in which he did not star:
- Rachel, RachelRachel, RachelRachel, Rachel is a 1968 American drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by Stewart Stern is based on the 1966 novel A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence.-Plot:...
(1968) - They Might Be GiantsThey Might Be Giants (film)They Might Be Giants is a 1971 film based on the play of the same name starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward. Occasionally cited mistakenly as a Broadway play, it never in fact opened in the USA...
(1971) - The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon MarigoldsThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (film)The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a 1972 American drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same title by Paul Zindel...
—which featured their daughter, Nell Potts (1972) - The Shadow BoxThe Shadow BoxThe Shadow Box is a play written by actor Michael Cristofer. The play made its Broadway debut on March 31, 1977. The original cast included Simon Oakland as Joe, Laurence Luckinbill as Brian, Mandy Patinkin as Mark, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Felicity, and Vincent Spano as Steve.-Plot synopsis:The...
(1980)—(television movie) - The Glass MenagerieThe Glass Menagerie (1987 film)The Glass Menagerie is a 1987 American drama film directed by Paul Newman. It is a replication of a production of the Tennessee Williams play of the same title that originated at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and then transferred to the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.The film is...
(1987)
Later career
Woodward has continued to act, in such films as Summer Wishes, Winter DreamsSummer Wishes, Winter Dreams
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams is a 1973 film which tells the story of a New York City homemaker who rethinks her relationships with her husband, her children and her mother...
and Philadelphia
Philadelphia (film)
Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington...
(1993) in which she played the mother to Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
' character, and in television. She appeared in the television films Sybil, opposite Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
, and Crisis at Central High
Crisis at Central High
Crisis at Central High was a 1981 made-for-television movie about the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957, based on a draft of the memoir by the same name by former assistant principal Elizabeth Huckaby....
. She was the narrator for Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's screen version of The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence is a novel by Edith Wharton published in 1920, which won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize. The story is set in upper-class New York City in the 1870s. In 1920, The Age of Innocence was serialized in four parts in the Pictorial Review magazine, and later released by D...
.
Woodward was a co-producer and starred in a 1993 broadcast of the play Blind Spot, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie. She was executive producer of the 2003 television production of Our Town
Our Town (2003 film)
Our Town is a 2003 film adaptation of the famous play of the same name by Thornton Wilder. It stars Paul Newman, who was nominated for both an Emmy and a SAG award for outstanding acting. It was shown on PBS as part of Masterpiece Theatre after first being shown on the cable channel Showtime. It...
, featuring Newman as the stage manager (for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
.) She wrote the teleplay and directed a 1982 production of Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson was an American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years...
's story Come Along with Me, for which husband Newman provided the voice of the character Hughie under the screen name of P. L. Neuman.
Woodward is the artistic director of the Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse, is a not-for-profit theater in Westport, Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos the Playhouse produces new and classic plays for the public....
.
She recorded a reading of singer John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
's song "The Real Life" for his box set On the Rural Route 7609
On the Rural Route 7609
On the Rural Route 7609 is a box set by rock singer/songwriter John Mellencamp that was released on June 15, 2010. The first part of the title refers to the song "Rural Route" from his 2007 album Freedom's Road and the fact that Mellencamp's music and lifestyle have always been very rural in...
. In 2011 she narrated the Scholastic/Weston Woods film "All the World".
Personal life
Woodward was rumored to have been engaged to author Gore VidalGore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
prior to marrying Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
. Apparently, however, there was no real engagement: Vidal later claimed it was a stunt to attract Newman's attention. Woodward shared a house with Vidal in Los Angeles for a short time and they remained friends.
Woodward met Newman in 1953. They later reconnected on the set of The Long Hot Summer in 1957. Woodward married Newman on February 2, 1958 in Las Vegas. The couple remained married until Newman's death from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on September 26, 2008. Their 50-year-marriage is iconic since long-lasting marriages between big stars are rare in Hollywood.
Woodward and Newman had three daughters: Elinor Teresa (1959), known on screen as Nell Potts and generally as Nell Newman
Nell Newman
Elinor Teresa Newman is a former child actress who performed under the name of Nell Potts. She is an environmentalist, biologist, and a prominent supporter of sustainable agriculture, who became an entrepreneur when she founded an organic food and pet food production company, Newman's Own...
, Melissa "Lissy" Stewart (1961), and Claire "Clea" Olivia Newman (1965). They also have two grandsons (Lissy's children).
In 1990, Woodward graduated from Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
with her daughter Clea. Newman delivered the commencement address, during which he said he dreamed that a woman had asked, "How dare you accept this invitation to give the commencement address when you are merely hanging on to the coattails of the accomplishments of your wife?"
In 1988, Newman and Woodward established the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Connecticut is a non-profit, residential summer camp and year-round center serving children and their families coping with cancer and other serious illnesses and conditions.-History:...
, named for the outlaws in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman...
. The eleven camps permit seriously ill youngsters to enjoy the great outdoors, at no cost to them or their families.
Woodward continues to live in Westport, Connecticut
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Momentum (Alfred Hitchcock Presents) | Leola Boone | ||
| 1955 | Count Three and Pray Count Three and Pray (film) Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward and Raymond Burr. It was based on the story Calico Pony Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward (in her film debut) and Raymond Burr. It was based on... |
Lissy | ||
| 1956 | Dorothy "Dorie" Kingship | |||
| 1957 | Eve White / Eve Black / Jane | Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama National Board of Review Award for Best Actress National Board of Review Award for Best Actress The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award for Best Actress is one of the annual film awards given by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.-1940s:-1950s:- 1960s :- 1970s :- 1980s :- 1990s :- 2000s :-2010s:... Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :... |
||
| 1957 | No Down Payment No Down Payment No Down Payment is a 1957 film directed by Martin Ritt. It was scripted by Philip Yordan, who fronted for a then uncredited and blacklisted Ben Maddow and is based on the novel of the same name by John McPartland... |
Leola Boone | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :... |
|
| 1958 | Clara Varner | |||
| 1958 | Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! | Grace Oglethorpe Bannerman | ||
| 1959 | Quentin Compson/Narrator | |||
| 1959 | Carol Cutrere | San Sebastián International Film Festival San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953... Zulueta Prize for Best Actress |
||
| 1960 | From the Terrace From the Terrace From the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Barbara Eden, Ina Balin, and Leon Ames.... |
Mary St. John/Mrs. Alfred Eaton | ||
| 1961 | Paris Blues Paris Blues Paris Blues is an American feature film filmed on location in Paris, starring Sidney Poitier as expatriate jazz musician Eddie Cook, and Paul Newman as trombone-playing Ram Bowen. The two men romance two vacationing American tourists, Connie Lampson and Lillian Corning respectively... |
Lillian Corning | ||
| 1963 | Lila Green | |||
| 1963 | Samantha (Sam) Blake/Mimi | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | ||
| 1964 | Signpost to Murder | Molly Thomas | ||
| 1966 | Mary | |||
| 1966 | Rhoda Shillitoe | |||
| 1968 | Rachel, Rachel Rachel, Rachel Rachel, Rachel is a 1968 American drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by Stewart Stern is based on the 1966 novel A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence.-Plot:... |
Rachel Cameron | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress The Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*... New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking.-1930s:-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :... |
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| 1969 | Winning Winning Winning is a 1969 American motion picture starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. A number of racecar drivers and people associated with racing appear in the film, including Bobby Unser, Tony Hulman, Bobby Grim, Dan Gurney, Roger McCluskey, and Bruce Walkup.-Plot summary:The film centers on... |
Elora Capua | ||
| 1970 | WUSA WUSA (film) WUSA is a 1970 drama film, directed by Stuart Rosenberg. It was written by Robert Stone, based on his novel A Hall of Mirrors. The story involves a radio station in New Orleans with the eponymous call sign which is apparently involved in a so-called "right-wing conspiracy". It culminates with a... |
Geraldine | ||
| 1971 | They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (film) They Might Be Giants is a 1971 film based on the play of the same name starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward. Occasionally cited mistakenly as a Broadway play, it never in fact opened in the USA... |
Dr. Mildred Watson | ||
| 1971 | All the Way Home | Mary Follet | TV | |
| 1972 | Beatrice | Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival) The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * .... Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress The Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*... Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
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| 1973 | Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams is a 1973 film which tells the story of a New York City homemaker who rethinks her relationships with her husband, her children and her mother... |
Rita Walden | BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :... Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress The Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*... New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking.-1930s:-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
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| 1975 | Iris Devereaux | |||
| 1976 | Sybil | Dr. Cornelia B. Wilbur Cornelia B. Wilbur Cornelia B. Wilbur was an American psychiatrist. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1930 and was one of eight women medical college graduates in 1939... |
Television film Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
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| 1977 | Come Back, Little Sheba | Lola Delaney | Television drama | |
| 1978 | See How She Runs | Betty Quinn | Television film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
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| 1978 | Jessica Lawson | |||
| 1978 | Mildred McCloud | Television film | ||
| 1979 | Carol Schramm | Television film | ||
| 1980 | Beverly | TV | ||
| 1981 | Crisis at Central High Crisis at Central High Crisis at Central High was a 1981 made-for-television movie about the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957, based on a draft of the memoir by the same name by former assistant principal Elizabeth Huckaby.... |
Elizabeth Huckaby | Television film Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film |
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| 1982 | Candida Candida (play) Candida, a comedy by playwright George Bernard Shaw, was first published in 1898, as part of his Plays Pleasant. The central characters are clergyman James Morell, his wife Candida and a youthful poet, Eugene Marchbanks, who tries to win Candida's affections. The play questions Victorian notions... |
Candida | Television film | |
| 1984 | Harry & Son Harry & Son Harry & Son is a 1984 American drama film directed by Paul Newman, who also stars. The screenplay by Newman and Ronald Buck focuses on the relationship between a blue-collar worker and his son, who fails at various odd jobs while aspiring to be a writer. Much of the film was shot in Lake Worth, FL... |
Lilly | ||
| 1984 | Passions | Catherine Kennerly | Television film | |
| 1985 | Do You Remember Love | Barbara Wyatt-Hollis | Television film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film |
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| 1986 | Women – for America, for the World | Short documentary | ||
| 1987 | Amanda Wingfield | Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female | ||
| 1990 | Mr. and Mrs. Bridge Mr. and Mrs. Bridge Mr. & Mrs. Bridge is a 1990 Merchant Ivory film based on the novels by Evan S. Connell of the same name. It is directed by James Ivory, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and produced by Ismail Merchant.-Plot:... |
India Bridge | Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress The Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*... New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking.-1930s:-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female |
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| 1993 | Foreign Affairs | Vinnie Miner | Television film | |
| 1993 | Blind Spot | Nell Harrington | Television film Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
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| 1993 | Narrator | |||
| 1993 | Philadelphia Philadelphia (film) Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington... |
Sarah Beckett | ||
| 1994 | Breathing Lessons Breathing Lessons Breathing Lessons is a 1988 novel by American author Anne Tyler. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1989 and was also Time Magazine's book of the year.... |
Maggie Moran | Television film Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
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| 1996 | Even If a Hundred Ogres... | Narrator (voice) | ||
| 2005 | Empire Falls | Francine Whiting | Television miniseries Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
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| 2011 | All the World | Narrator |
Awards
In 1958, Woodward won the Academy Award for Best ActressAcademy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for The Three Faces of Eve
The Three Faces of Eve
The Three Faces of Eve is a 1957 American film adaptation of a case study by Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley. It was based on the true story of Chris Costner Sizemore, also known as Eve White, a woman who suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder formerly known as multiple personality...
. She was nominated for Best Actress in 1969 for Rachel, Rachel
Rachel, Rachel
Rachel, Rachel is a 1968 American drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by Stewart Stern is based on the 1966 novel A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence.-Plot:...
, in 1974 for Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams is a 1973 film which tells the story of a New York City homemaker who rethinks her relationships with her husband, her children and her mother...
, and in 1991 for Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge is a 1990 Merchant Ivory film based on the novels by Evan S. Connell of the same name. It is directed by James Ivory, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and produced by Ismail Merchant.-Plot:...
. She was named Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in 1974 for her performance in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a 1964 play written by Paul Zindel, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for the work. The play's world premiere was staged in 1964 at the Alley Theatre...
.
Woodward won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie, for See How She Runs (1978) as a divorced teacher who trains for a marathon, and in Do You Remember Love? (1985) as a professor who begins to suffer from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. She has been nominated an additional five times for her roles on television.
A popular (but untrue) bit of Hollywood lore is that Woodward was the first celebrity to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
. In fact, the original 1,550 stars were created and installed as a unit in 1960; no one star was officially "first." (The first star actually completed was director Stanley Kramer
Stanley Kramer
Stanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer. Kramer was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous "message" movies...
's. The origin of this legend is not known with certainty; but according to Johnny Grant, the long-time Honorary Mayor of Hollywood, Woodward was the first celebrity to agree to pose with her star for photographers, and therefore was singled out in the collective public imagination as the first awardee.