Early life

Woodward was born in Thomasville, Georgia, daughter of Elinor (née Trimmier) and Wade Woodward, Jr., who at one point was vice president of publisher Charles Scribner's Sons. Her middle names, "Gignilliat Trimmier", are of Huguenot origin. 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 that he remembered her doing it.

Woodward lived in Thomasville until she was in the second grade, when her family relocated to Marietta, Georgia, where she attended Marietta High School. She remains a booster of Marietta High and of that city's Strand Theater. They moved once again when she was a junior in high school, after her parents divorced. She graduated from Greenville High School in Greenville, South Carolina in 1947. Woodward won many beauty contests 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 premiére 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.

Career

Early career

Woodward's first film was a post-Civil War Western, Count Three and Pray, in 1955. She continued to move between Hollywood and Broadway, eventually understudying in the New York production of Picnic, which featured her future husband 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.

Films with Paul Newman

She appeared with husband Paul Newman in ten feature films:

• The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
• Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958)
• From the Terrace (1960)
• Paris Blues (1961)
• A New Kind of Love (1963)
• Winning (1969)
• WUSA (1970)
• The Drowning Pool (1975)
• Harry & Son (1984)—(directed by Newman)
• Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (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, Rachel (1968)
• They Might Be Giants (1971)
• The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds—which featured their daughter, Nell Potts (1972)
• The Shadow Box (1980)—(television movie)
• The Glass Menagerie (1987)

Later career

Woodward has continued to act, in such films as Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973) opposite Martin Balsam, and Philadelphia (1993) in which she played the mother to Tom Hanks' character, and in television. She appeared in the television films Sybil (1976), opposite Sally Field, and Crisis at Central High (1981). She was the narrator for Martin Scorsese's screen version of The Age of Innocence (1993).

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. In 1995, Woodward directed off-broadway revivals of Clifford Odets' Golden Boy and Waiting for Lefty at the Blue Light Theater Company in New York.

Woodward served as the artistic director of the Westport Country Playhouse from 2001 to 2005.

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.

Personal life

Woodward was reported to have been engaged to author Gore Vidal prior to marrying Paul Newman. However, there was no real engagement: Vidal later claimed it was just 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 had first met Newman in 1953. They later reconnected on the set of The Long Hot Summer in 1957. Woodward and Newman married on January 29, 1958, in Las Vegas. On March 28 of the same year, Woodward won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Three Faces of Eve. The couple remained married for 50 years, until Newman's death from lung cancer on September 26, 2008.

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, by Lissy.

In 1988, Newman and Woodward established the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a nonprofit residential summer camp, and year-round center named after the Wyoming mountain hideaway of the outlaws in Newman's film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The camp, located in Ashford, Connecticut, provides services to 20,000 children and their families coping with cancer, and other serious illnesses and conditions, free of charge.

In 1990, Woodward graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, along 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?"

Woodward and Newman made their home in Westport, Connecticut.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Tales of Tomorrow	Pat	episode: The Bitter Storm
1952-1953	Omnibus	Ann Rutledge	episode: Mr. Lincoln
1953-1954	The Philco Television Playhouse	Emily	episode: The Dancers
1954	The Ford Television Theatre	June Ledbetter	episode: Segment
	The Elgin Hour	Nancy	episode: High Man
	Lux Video Theatre	Jenny Townsend	episode: Five Star Final
1952-1954	Robert Montgomery Presents	Elsie Penny	episode: Homecoming episode: Penny
1955	The Star and the Story	Jill Andrews	episode: Dark Stranger
	Count Three and Pray	Lissy
	The 20th Century Fox Hour	Eleanor Apley	episode: The Late George Apley
	The United States Steel Hour	Rocky	episode: White Gloves
1954-1956	Four Star Playhouse	Ann Benton Terry Thomas Victoria Lee 'Vicki' Hallock	episode: Watch the Sunset episode: Full Circle episode: Interlude
1954-1956	Studio One	Christiana Daisy Lisa	episode: A Man's World episode: Family Protection episode: Stir Mugs
1956	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Beth Paine	episode: Momentum
	Kiss Before Dying, AA Kiss Before Dying	Dorothy "Dorie" Kingship
	G.E. True Theatre	Ann Rutledge	episode: Prologue to Glory
	The Alcoa Hour	Margaret Spencer	episode: The Girl in Chapter One
	Climax!	Katherine	episode: Savage Portrait
1957	Three Faces of Eve, TheThe Three Faces of Eve	Eve White Eve Black Jane	Academy Award for Best Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama National Board of Review Award for Best Actress Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress
	No Down Payment	Leola Boone	National Board of Review Award for Best Actress Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress
1958	Playhouse 90	Louise Darling	episode: The 80 Yard Run
	Long, Hot Summer, TheThe Long, Hot Summer	Clara Varner
	Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!	Grace Oglethorpe Bannerman	Nominated - Laurel Award for Top Female Comedic Performance
1959	Sound and the Fury, TheThe Sound and the Fury	Quentin Compson/Narrator
1960	Fugitive Kind, TheThe Fugitive Kind	Carol Cutrere	San Sebastián International Film Festival Zulueta Prize for Best Actress
	From the Terrace	Mary St. John
1961	Paris Blues	Lillian Corning
1963	Stripper, TheThe Stripper	Lila Green	Nominated - Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance
	New Kind of Love, AA New Kind of Love	Samantha 'Sam' Blake Mimi	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1964	Signpost to Murder	Molly Thomas
1966	Big Hand for the Little Lady, AA Big Hand for the Little Lady	Mary	Nominated - Laurel Award for Top Female Comedic Performance
	Fine Madness, AA Fine Madness	Rhoda Shillitoe
1968	Rachel, Rachel	Rachel Cameron	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated - Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance
1969	Winning	Elora Capua
1970	WUSA	Geraldine
	King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis	Herself	documentary
1971	They Might Be Giants	Dr. Mildred Watson
	All the Way Home	Mary Follet	TV movie
1972	Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, TheThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds	Beatrice	Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1973	Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams	Rita Walden	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1975	Drowning Pool, TheThe Drowning Pool	Iris Devereaux
1976	Sybil	Dr. Cornelia B. Wilbur	Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
	The Carol Burnett Show	Midge Gibson	episode: Episode #9.21
1977	Come Back, Little Sheba	Lola Delaney
1978	See How She Runs	Betty Quinn	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
	End, TheThe End	Jessica Lawson
	Christmas to Remember, AA Christmas to Remember	Mildred McCloud	TV movie
1979	The Streets of L.A.	Carol Schramm	TV movie
1980	The Shadow Box	Beverly
1981	Crisis at Central High	Elizabeth Huckaby	Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
1982	Candida	Candida	TV movie
1984	Harry & Son	Lilly
	Passions	Catherine Kennerly	TV movie
1985	Do You Remember Love	Barbara Wyatt-Hollis	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
1987	The Glass Menagerie	Amanda Wingfield	Nominated - Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female
1990	Mr. and Mrs. Bridge	India Bridge	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated - David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Nominated - Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female Nominated - Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated - National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
1993	Foreign Affairs	Vinnie Miner	TV movie
	Blind Spot	Nell Harrington	Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
	Age of Innocence, TheThe Age of Innocence	Narrator
	Philadelphia	Sarah Beckett
1994	Breathing Lessons	Maggie Moran	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
1996	Even If a Hundred Ogres...	Narrator (voice)
2005	Empire Falls	Francine Whiting	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
2013	Lucky Them	Doris (voice)

Awards

In 1958, Woodward won the Academy Award for Best Actress 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.

In 1994, she and her husband were jointly presented the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.

Charities

Joanne Woodward supports the following charitable cause: Environment.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]