Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward | |
---|---|
Born | Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward February 27, 1930 Thomasville, Georgia, U.S. |
Other names |
|
Alma mater | Sarah Lawrence College |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1950–2013 |
Spouse | |
Children | 3, including Nell and Melissa Newman |
Awards | Full list |
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American retired
Woodward is perhaps best known for her performance as a woman with
Woodward is the widow of actor Paul Newman, with whom she often collaborated either as a co-star, or as an actor in films directed or produced by him. Woodward's career is notable not only for its unusual longevity, but for the range and depth of roles which she played. In 1960, she became the first person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[2]
In 1990, Woodward earned a bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College at age 60, graduating alongside her daughter Clea.[3]
Early life
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward was born on February 27, 1930, in
Attending the premiere of
Woodward lived in Thomasville, then lived in Blakely and Thomaston before her family relocated to Marietta, Georgia, where she attended Marietta High School. She remains a supporter of Marietta High School and of the city's Strand Theater.[7]
The family moved once again to Greenville, South Carolina, when she was a junior in high school, after her parents divorced.[5] She attended and graduated from Greenville High School. She also performed at Greenville's Little Theater.[8]
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.[5] There, she studied at the Actors Studio and also studied under Sanford Meisner in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.[9][10]
Career
Early career
In 1952, Woodward made her first television appearance on an episode of Robert Montgomery Presents entitled "Penny." She also auditioned for roles on the stage, becoming an understudy during the run of the William Inge drama Picnic in 1953–1954. It was there that she met her future husband Paul Newman,[5] although at that time he was still married to his first wife Jacqueline Witte.
Woodward appeared in many other TV drama shows such as
Woodward's first feature film was a post-
Woodward's career included TV, stage and feature film acting. In 1956 she returned to Broadway to star in The Lovers. It had only a brief run (but was later filmed as
Film stardom
In 1957, Woodward astounded audiences and critics alike with her performance in The Three Faces of Eve. She portrayed a woman with three distinct personalities — a southern housewife, a sexually voracious 'bad girl,' and a normal young woman — and gave each their own unique voices and gestures. For her work on the film, Woodward won an Academy Award for Best Actress. [12]
With Woodward's credentials as a star attraction established, Fox gave her top billing in No Down Payment (1957), directed by Martin Ritt and produced by Jerry Wald. She was re-united with Ritt on another Faulkner adaptation, The Sound and the Fury (1959), with Yul Brynner. Sidney Lumet cast Woodward alongside Marlon Brando and Anna Magnani in The Fugitive Kind (1960), a box office disappointment. More popular was a third film with Newman, From the Terrace (1960), which Woodward later admitted to having "affection" for "because of the way I looked like Lana Turner".[13] The couple then made Paris Blues (1961) with Ritt. For her title role in The Stripper (1963), Joanne was coached in technique by burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee.[14] In 1966, she appeared as Mary in A Big Hand for the Little Lady, and starred alongside Sean Connery in A Fine Madness. In Rachel Rachel (1968), produced and directed by Newman, Woodward played a schoolteacher hoping for love. This film won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.[15]
In 1972, Woodward starred in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. For this performance as a mother estranged from her daughters (one of them played by her actual daughter, Nell), she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. She then starred in the mid-life crisis drama Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973), written by Stewart Stern, for which she received another Oscar nomination for Best Actress.[16]
Woodward was to have co-starred with Robert Shaw in Strindberg's The Dance of Death at Lincoln Center in 1974, but withdrew from the production during rehearsals. "New York puts a pressure on you that I don't react well to, with the critics and all that", she later said. "I like to act in a relaxed atmosphere."[17]
Woodward supported Burt Reynolds in The End (1978), and as the 70s progressed did more television drama. She did A Christmas to Remember (1979) on TV. The decade ended with The Streets of L.A. (1979). Woodward also directed an episode of Family in 1979. For TV, she appeared in Come Back, Little Sheba (1977) with Laurence Olivier, and See How She Runs (1978). The latter won her an Emmy.[18]
Woodward's credits in the 1980s included
Woodward also found critical success on the small screen. She won Emmy Awards for her work as an actress on See How She Runs (1978) and Do You Remember Love? (1985). As a producer, she won another Emmy for Broadway's dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theater in 1990. Woodward also returned to TV to do "The 80 Yard Run" for Playhouse 90.
Partnership with Paul Newman
Woodward met Paul Newman on the set of the stage drama Picnic, in the early 1950s, and the two married on January 29, 1958, after his divorce from his first wife Jacqueline Witte was finalized.[19] Woodward was soon an Academy Award winner, winning her Oscar on March 28. Although he was nominated many times, Newman did not achieve a win until 1986.
Woodward and Newman appeared in many films together during the 1950s and '60s. The first was
Only two months after their wedding, Woodward won her first Academy Award. Newman got his first nomination later that year, 1958, for Cat On a Hot Tin Roof. Both at the top of their game as film stars, Woodward and Newman became a celebrity power couple and were featured in countless magazines and articles for the next fifty years. Woodward's family life, she felt, deepened at the expense of her film career. She later said:
Initially, I probably had a real movie-star dream. It faded somewhere in my mid-30s, when I realized I wasn't going to be that kind of actor. It was painful. Also, I curtailed my career because of my children. Quite a bit. I resented it at the time, which was not a good way to be around the children. Paul was away on location a lot. I wouldn't go on location because of the children. I did once, and felt overwhelmed with guilt.[17]
Nevertheless, her acting career was successful and busy by any standard, as can be seen from the summary above. Her final screen performance with Newman was in the cable miniseries Empire Falls in 2005.
Later years
Woodward's film career had an exceptional longevity. In 1990, she again appeared opposite Newman in
In 1993, Woodward appeared in the film
In the twenty-first century, Woodward moved more into production and directorial roles. She served as the artistic director of the
Woodward had the lead in Change in the Wind (2010). In 2011, she narrated the Scholastic/Weston Woods film All the World.[citation needed]
In 2022, Woodward and Newman were the subject of a six-part documentary by
Personal life
Woodward was reported to have been engaged to author Gore Vidal before she married Paul Newman.[28] However, there was no real engagement; Woodward claims that she was a beard for Vidal, who was bisexual.[29] Woodward shared a house with Vidal in Los Angeles for a short time, and they remained friends.[28]
Woodward first met Newman at their agent's office. They were both understudies for the play Picnic in 1953. In the midst of this they starred in The Long, Hot Summer in 1957. Newman divorced his wife Jackie Witte, with whom he already had three children, and married Woodward 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.[30] Woodward has said: "He's very good-looking and very sexy and all of those things but all that goes out the window finally, and what finally is left is if you can make somebody laugh. And he sure does keep me laughing."[31] Newman attributed their relationship success to "some combination of lust and respect and patience. And determination."[32]
When Paul Newman was asked, in an interview with Playboy magazine, how he remained faithful to Woodward, Newman responded, "I have steak at home; why go out for hamburger?"[33][34]
Woodward has three daughters with Newman: Elinor Teresa "Nell" (1959), Melissa Stewart (1961), and Claire Olivia "Clea" (1965).[35]
Woodward and Newman were mentors to Allison Janney, whom they had met when Janney, a Kenyon College freshman, was cast in a play that Newman directed.[36] Janney acknowledged this support in a 2018 speech.[37]
Woodward and Newman were active supporters of the Democratic Party. They were conspicuous supporters of Senator Eugene McCarthy in his unsuccessful 1968 presidential campaign, attending a benefit for his campaign at Arthur's Restaurant on April 1, 1968.[38][39] Documents declassified in 2017 show that the National Security Agency had created a biographical file on Woodward as part of its monitoring of prominent US citizens whose names appeared in signals intelligence.[40]
In 1988, Newman and Woodward established the
In 1990, after working toward her bachelor's degree for more than 10 years, Woodward graduated from Sarah Lawrence College along with her daughter Clea.[5] Paul 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?"[43] In 1992, along with Newman, Woodward was awarded the Kennedy Center honors for lifetime achievement.[44]
Woodward, widowed since 2008, lived for many years in Westport, Connecticut, where she and Newman raised their daughters. She retreated from public life following a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in 2007. After this, she moved from Connecticut to Santa Monica, California, to be near her three daughters and other family members.[27]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1955 | Count Three and Pray | Lissy | |
1956 | A Kiss Before Dying | Dorothy "Dorie" Kingship | |
1957 | The Three Faces of Eve | Eve White / Eve Black / Jane | 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 | The Long, Hot Summer | Clara Varner | |
Rally Round the Flag, Boys! | Grace Oglethorpe Bannerman | Nominated – Laurel Award for Top Female Comedic Performance
| |
1959 | The Sound and the Fury | Quentin Compson / Narrator | |
1960 | The 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 | The Stripper | Lila Green | Nominated – Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance
|
A 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 | A Big Hand for the Little Lady | Mary | Nominated – Laurel Award for Top Female Comedic Performance
|
A Fine Madness | Rhoda Shillitoe | ||
1968 | Rachel, Rachel | Rachel Cameron | Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance
|
1969 | Winning | Elora Capua | |
1970 | WUSA | Geraldine | |
1971 | They Might Be Giants | Dr. Mildred Watson | |
1972 | The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds | Beatrice Hunsdorfer | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
|
1973 | Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams | Rita Walden | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
|
1975 | The Drowning Pool | Iris Devereaux | |
1978 | The End | Jessica Lawson | |
1984 | Harry & Son | Lilly | |
1987 | The Glass Menagerie | Amanda Wingfield | Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female
|
1990 | Mr. & Mrs. Bridge | India Bridge | Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress 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 | The Age of Innocence | Narrator | Voice |
Philadelphia | Sarah Beckett | ||
1996 | Even If a Hundred Ogres... | Narrator | Voice |
2010 | Change in the Wind | Margaret Mitchell | Voice |
2012 | Gayby | Jenn's Mother | Voice, uncredited |
2013 | Lucky Them | Doris | Voice, also executive producer |
Television
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 | 2 episodes |
1955 | The Star and the Story | Jill Andrews | Episode: "Dark Stranger" |
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 | 3 episodes |
1954–1956 | Studio One | Christiana / Daisy / Lisa | 3 episodes |
1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Beth Paine | Season 1 Episode 39: "Momentum" |
GE True | Ann Rutledge | Episode: "Prologue to Glory" | |
The Alcoa Hour | Margaret Spencer | Episode: "The Girl in Chapter One" | |
Climax! | Katherine | Episode: "Savage Portrait" | |
1958 | Playhouse 90 | Louise Darling | Episode: "The 80 Yard Run" |
1971 | All the Way Home | Mary Follet | Television film |
1976 | The Carol Burnett Show | Midge Gibson | Episode: "The Family: Friend from the Past" |
Sybil | Dr. Cornelia B. Wilbur | Miniseries Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
| |
1977 | Come Back, Little Sheba | Lola Delaney | Television film |
1978 | See How She Runs | Betty Quinn | Television film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
|
A Christmas to Remember | Mildred McCloud | Television film | |
1979 | The Streets of L.A. | Carol Schramm | Television film |
1980 | The Shadow Box | Beverly | Television film |
1981 | Crisis at Central High | 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 |
1982 | Candida | Candida | Television film |
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 |
1993 | Foreign Affairs | Vinnie Miner | Television film |
Blind Spot | Nell Harrington | Television film Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Also co-producer | |
The Roots of Woe | Margaret Sanger | Voice, television film | |
1994 | Breathing Lessons | Maggie Moran | Television film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
|
2003 | Our Town | N/A | Television film, executive producer |
2005 | Empire Falls | Francine Whiting | 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 |
2022 | The Last Movie Stars | Self (archival footage) | TV documentary |
Awards
In 1958, Woodward won the
Woodward won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series 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
In 1994, Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman were jointly presented the Award for Outstanding Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards for Public Service.[49]
References
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- ^ "Joanne Woodward earns first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame". HISTORY. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ "Joanne Woodward". Yahoo Movies.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Joanne Woodward". Inside the Actors Studio. Season 9. Episode 15. May 11, 2003. Bravo.
- ^ "Woodward, Joanne (1930—) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ "Joanne Woodward (b. 1930)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ^ "Joanne Woodward - Actor, Part 1". KnowItAll.org. SCETV. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Joanne Woodward". Biography. August 27, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Drama: Joanne Woodward's Pact Continued Los Angeles Times January 25, 1956: 20.
- ^ "Browser Unsupported - Academy Awards Search | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences". awardsdatabase.oscars.org. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ The Newmans: 2 Lives in the Movies By MEL GUSSOW. New York Times April 28, 1975: 33.
- ^ "Woodward, Joanne (1930—) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ a b Editors, Biography.com (August 27, 2019). "Joanne Woodward". Biography. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ Joanne Woodward: What You See Is All You Get: A Portrait of Joanne Woodward What You See Is All You Get, Haun, Harry. Los Angeles Times, January 13, 1974: n1.
- ^ a b c JOANNE WOODWARD HAD 'A MOVIE-STAR DREAM' Lawson, Carol. New York Times September 17, 1981: C.19.
- ^ TV: Joanne Woodward, 40, 'Sweet' and Running, By JOHN J. O'CONNOR. New York Times February 1, 1978: C23.
- ^ Editors, Biography.com (May 4, 2021). "Paul Newman". Biography. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ Rohter, Larry (November 18, 1990). "Crossing the Bridges With the Newmans". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (November 23, 1990). "A Placid Marriage, And Undercurrents". chicagoreader.com. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge". chicagoreader.com. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Joanne Woodward | Biography, Movies, Paul Newman, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ Woodward Finds Her Forum THE ACTRESS SEES TV FILMS AS A `TEACHING TOOL' FOR TIMELY ISSUES: [Home Edition] Granville, Kari. Los Angeles Times May 2, 1993: 6.
- ^ Simonson, Robert (February 7, 2001). "Off-Broadway's Blue Light Theatre Suspends Operations After Six Years". Playbill.
- ^ Simonson, Robert. "Joanne Woodward to Step Down as Westport Playhouse Artistic Director." Retrieved July 21, 2015
- ^ a b Olsen, Mark (July 22, 2022). "Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were movie stars for 50 years. A new doc explains how". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "A First Draft of Gore Vidal's Illustrated Memoir." Archived May 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine December 23, 2011.
- ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (January 4, 2013). "Gore Vidal says nice things about women in the new Vanity Fair". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
In the piece, Joanne Woodward recalls pretending to have an affair with Vidal, who was gay, as a way of placating his family and perhaps as a cover for her relationship with the not-quite-divorced Paul Newman. "We got a kick out of it," she told Balaban. "I couldn't see Gore and me getting married — oh, heavens — but we did have a great time together."
- People. September 27, 2008.
- ^ Weaver, Hilary (March 9, 2018). "It's Been a Good Week to Appreciate Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward". Vanity Fair.
- ^ Murtaugh, Taysha (August 22, 2017). "The Secret to Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward's 50-Year Marriage". Country Living. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ^ Andrews, Travis M. (October 27, 2017). "Paul Newman's Rolex — with a telling message from his wife — fetches record $17.8 million". Washington Post. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- ^ Pukas, Anna (November 6, 2015). "Paul Newman's daughter Clea: 'Dad was so much more than a movie star'". Express. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ^ "Why Allison Janney Never Cashed In Her Favor From Paul Newman". Forbes.
- ^ "Oscars 2018: Why Allison Janney Thanked Joanne Woodward". Vanity Fair. March 5, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ "Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman". Getty Images. September 27, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ "Joanne Woodward during Political Benefit for Eugene McCarthy at..." Getty Images. October 28, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ "National Security Agency Tracking of U.S. Citizens – "Questionable Practices" from 1960s & 1970s". National Security Archive. September 25, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- ^ "Who We Are". HoleInTheWallGang.org. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ^ Pukas, Anna (November 6, 2015). "Paul Newman's daughter Clea: 'Dad was so much more than a movie star'". Express.co.uk. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ People Magazine, June 11, 1990. People Archive. Archived January 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 6, 2010.
- ^ "Woodward, Joanne (1930—) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ "San Sebastian Film Festival". sansebastianfestival. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the originalon June 12, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ "Kramer First Name Put in Walk of Fame". Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1960. p. 15. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2010 – via ProQuest Archiver.
- ^ Thermos, Wendy (July 22, 2005). "Sidewalk Shrine to Celebrities Twinkles With Stars". Los Angeles Times. p. B2. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2010 – via ProQuest Archiver.
- ^ "Past Winners". Jefferson Awards Foundation. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
Further reading
- Morella, Joe; Epstein, Edward Z. (1988). Paul and Joanne: A Biography of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. New York: Delacorte Press. OCLC 18016049.
- Netter, Susan (1989). Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. London, England: Piatkus. OCLC 19778734.
External links
- Joanne Woodward at IMDb
- Joanne Woodward at AllMovie
- Joanne Woodward at the Internet Broadway Database
- Joanne Woodward at the Internet Off-Broadway Database