Two of the most gorgeous stars on the silver screen just happened to be married to one another. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were a picturesque, loving couple who stayed together for five decades until Paul’s death.
Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward (circa 1965), (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
The two actors met on the set of “Picnic” in the 1950s according to The History Channel, where they started off their burgeoning acting careers. Newman was married at the time and they went their separate ways to take on big roles in Hollywood movies.
They worked together again in 1958’s “The Long, Hot Summer” and by the time filming ended, Newman’s divorce from his first wife was finalized. He whisked Woodward away to Las Vegas where the two were married.
The next decades were filled with love and professional success. They had three daughters and took up residency as a happy family in Connecticut. Among it all, Paul Newman went on to fill his biggest roles in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Sting.” His wife Joanne also won a best actress Oscar for her role in “The Three Faces of Eve.”
Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward (2004), (Kevin Mazur via Getty Images)
Paul Newman also started an organic line of food products called “Newman’s Own” and continued with this and other philanthropic ventures until his death from lung cancer in 2008. In the same year, he and Joanne celebrated their golden anniversary of 50 years of marriage and happiness.
Newman is widely quoted as saying “I have steak at home; why go out for hamburger?” referring to his wife Joanne being the “steak” as per The New York Times. And on her side, the secret to a long-lasting marriage was laughter. She told TODAY that even though beauty might fade, a man that makes you laugh every day is something to hold onto.
Other people have witnessed their electric chemistry, and for one writer in their presence at a dinner party in the 70s, she was very much taken in.
“Up behind me, Joanne Woodward sat on the ground with her back against the trunk of a big tree, her legs stretched out in front. In her lap rested the head of Paul Newman, who occasionally reached up to touch her face and hair as he savored the music,” wrote author Carol Ross Joynt according to The Washington Post. “It’s possible I gaped. To this day it’s the most romantic thing I ever witnessed.”
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