Joanne Woodward(I)
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward was born on February 27, 1930, in
Thomasville, Georgia, to Wade Woodward and Elinor Gignilliat Trimmier
Woodward in a modest household. Her one older brother, Wade Jr., who
was the favorite of her father, eventually became an architect. Elinor
Woodward was a quite a movie buff and enjoyed going to picture shows
often. Joanne claims she was nearly born in the middle of a
Joan Crawford movie
(Our Modern Maidens (1929)).
Her mother wanted to name her Joan, but being Southern, she changed it
to Joanne.
Thomasville was a typical small town in southern Georgia, around ten
miles from the Florida border. Joanne was born right into the Great
Depression. Her father was an administrator in the Thomasville school
system, and her family was raised Episcopalian. Joanne's mother being
an avid movie lover, it wasn't a surprise that Joanne wanted to go into
the acting profession. Her father wasn't too keen on the idea, but her
mother saw it coming and was thrilled. Joanne and her mother both
adored the movie
Wuthering Heights (1939)
starring Laurence Olivier, and in 1939
Elinor took her daughter to the premiere of
Gone with the Wind (1939) in
Atlanta. Pulling up in a limo with the love of his life,
Vivien Leigh (who starred in
Gone with the Wind (1939)),
Laurence Olivier was shocked when
9-year-old Joanne hopped right into the limo and sat in his lap without
any warning. Years later when Joanne was famous, Olivier keenly
remembered this incident. She later worked with Olivier in
Come Back, Little Sheba (1977).
In her teens, Joanne entered and won many Georgia beauty contests. Her
mother said that "she was the prettiest girl in town". But all Joanne
wanted to do was act, and she saw beauty contests as the first step
toward her dream. When she was of age, she enrolled in Louisiana State
University, majoring in drama. After graduation and doing small plays,
Joanne headed to New York and studied acting with
Sanford Meisner. The first thing he
tackled was Joanne's southern drawl.
Soon, Joanne was starring in television productions and theater. One
day, she was introduced by her agent to another young actor at her
level by the then-unknown name of
Paul Newman. Paul's first reaction
was, "Jeez, what an extraordinarily pretty girl". Joanne, while
admitting that he was very good-looking, didn't like him at first
sight, but she couldn't resist him. Soon they were working closely
together as understudies for the Broadway production of "Picnic" and
got along very well. They would have long conversations about anything
and everything. Then both their movie careers took off: Joanne with
Count Three and Pray (1955)
and Paul with
The Silver Chalice (1954).
Also adding to the tension was Paul's wife, Jackie, who refused to get
a divorce when Paul asked her for one. He wanted to marry Joanne;
Jackie would simply not have it. Eventually, Jackie saw the anguish
this was causing Paul and agreed to a divorce. Less than a week after
the divorce was final, Paul married Joanne in Las Vegas on January 29,
1958, just months before Joanne won her Best Actress Oscar for
The Three Faces of Eve (1957),
in which she plays a woman with multiple personality disorder.
On April 8, 1959, Joanne gave birth to their first child, Elinor Teresa
Newman, named after her and Paul's mothers. They both continued on with
their careers, doing movies both together and apart. Two more children
followed: Melissa Steward Newman on September 17, 1961, and Claire
Olivia Newman on April 21, 1965. Since then, Joanne has been extremely
busy in theater, film and television as well as ballet performances and
very involved with charities and taking care of her family. In 2003,
Joanne starred in a movie with Paul on HBO.
Thomasville, Georgia, to Wade Woodward and Elinor Gignilliat Trimmier
Woodward in a modest household. Her one older brother, Wade Jr., who
was the favorite of her father, eventually became an architect. Elinor
Woodward was a quite a movie buff and enjoyed going to picture shows
often. Joanne claims she was nearly born in the middle of a
Joan Crawford movie
(Our Modern Maidens (1929)).
Her mother wanted to name her Joan, but being Southern, she changed it
to Joanne.
Thomasville was a typical small town in southern Georgia, around ten
miles from the Florida border. Joanne was born right into the Great
Depression. Her father was an administrator in the Thomasville school
system, and her family was raised Episcopalian. Joanne's mother being
an avid movie lover, it wasn't a surprise that Joanne wanted to go into
the acting profession. Her father wasn't too keen on the idea, but her
mother saw it coming and was thrilled. Joanne and her mother both
adored the movie
Wuthering Heights (1939)
starring Laurence Olivier, and in 1939
Elinor took her daughter to the premiere of
Gone with the Wind (1939) in
Atlanta. Pulling up in a limo with the love of his life,
Vivien Leigh (who starred in
Gone with the Wind (1939)),
Laurence Olivier was shocked when
9-year-old Joanne hopped right into the limo and sat in his lap without
any warning. Years later when Joanne was famous, Olivier keenly
remembered this incident. She later worked with Olivier in
Come Back, Little Sheba (1977).
In her teens, Joanne entered and won many Georgia beauty contests. Her
mother said that "she was the prettiest girl in town". But all Joanne
wanted to do was act, and she saw beauty contests as the first step
toward her dream. When she was of age, she enrolled in Louisiana State
University, majoring in drama. After graduation and doing small plays,
Joanne headed to New York and studied acting with
Sanford Meisner. The first thing he
tackled was Joanne's southern drawl.
Soon, Joanne was starring in television productions and theater. One
day, she was introduced by her agent to another young actor at her
level by the then-unknown name of
Paul Newman. Paul's first reaction
was, "Jeez, what an extraordinarily pretty girl". Joanne, while
admitting that he was very good-looking, didn't like him at first
sight, but she couldn't resist him. Soon they were working closely
together as understudies for the Broadway production of "Picnic" and
got along very well. They would have long conversations about anything
and everything. Then both their movie careers took off: Joanne with
Count Three and Pray (1955)
and Paul with
The Silver Chalice (1954).
Also adding to the tension was Paul's wife, Jackie, who refused to get
a divorce when Paul asked her for one. He wanted to marry Joanne;
Jackie would simply not have it. Eventually, Jackie saw the anguish
this was causing Paul and agreed to a divorce. Less than a week after
the divorce was final, Paul married Joanne in Las Vegas on January 29,
1958, just months before Joanne won her Best Actress Oscar for
The Three Faces of Eve (1957),
in which she plays a woman with multiple personality disorder.
On April 8, 1959, Joanne gave birth to their first child, Elinor Teresa
Newman, named after her and Paul's mothers. They both continued on with
their careers, doing movies both together and apart. Two more children
followed: Melissa Steward Newman on September 17, 1961, and Claire
Olivia Newman on April 21, 1965. Since then, Joanne has been extremely
busy in theater, film and television as well as ballet performances and
very involved with charities and taking care of her family. In 2003,
Joanne starred in a movie with Paul on HBO.