Joanne Woodward

Lore & Background

Joanne Woodward was born on February 27, 1930, in Thomasville, Georgia, the daughter of Elinor and Wade Woodward Sr. Her mother named her after Joan Crawford. She attended Marietta High School and later Greenville High School after her parents divorced. She majored in drama at Louisiana State University, where she was an initiate of Chi Omega sorority, then studied at the Actors Studio and under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.

Woodward made her first television appearance in 1952 on Robert Montgomery Presents. She met Paul Newman while an understudy in the William Inge drama Picnic in 1953–1954. Her first feature film was Count Three and Pray (1955). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Three Faces of Eve (1957), sewing her own dress for the ceremony. She married Newman on January 29, 1958, and they remained married until his death in 2008.

Woodward earned a bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1990 at age 60, graduating alongside her daughter Clea. She collaborated frequently with Newman, both as co-star and in films he directed or produced. Her later work included television films such as See How She Runs (1978) and Do You Remember Love (1985), for which she won Emmy Awards.

Reader's Guide

Joanne Woodward's significance lies in her early portrayal of complex women, particularly her Oscar-winning performance as a woman with dissociative identity disorder in The Three Faces of Eve. She was a leading actress of the 1950s and 1960s, often collaborating with her husband Paul Newman. Her career spanned film, television, and stage, earning her multiple major awards. She is noted as the oldest living winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress. Woodward also directed and wrote for television, and earned a bachelor's degree at age 60. Her legacy includes her nuanced character work and her long partnership with Newman.

Did You Know?

• Woodward sewed her own dress for the Academy Awards ceremony where she won Best Actress.
• She earned a bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College at age 60, graduating alongside her daughter Clea.
• She met Paul Newman while working as an understudy in the play Picnic.
• Woodward was named after actress Joan Crawford by her mother.