The 10 best Woodwards
List of Woodwards with credits to their name
List activity
37 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
10 people
- 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.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
British actor Edward Woodward made a highly successful transition into Hollywood TV stardom in the mid 1980s thanks to a popular dramatic series. Possessing a magnetic, yet coldly handsome demeanor in the same mold as Christopher Plummer, he was born Edward Albert Arthur Woodward on June 1, 1930, in London and received his early education at various schools before becoming a student at Commercial College.
Trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), Woodward made his stage debut in a 1946 production of "A Kiss for Cinderella," and gained valuable experience in repertory companies throughout England and Scotland. He took his first London curtain call portraying "Ralph Stokes" in 1954 with "Where There's a Will," and subsequently made his movie debut recreating his stage part in the film version of Where There's a Will (1955). The actor continued grandly on stage in such Shakespearean productions as "Hamlet" (Laertes)," "Romeo and Juliet" (Mercutio), "Pericles" (Thaliard), "Much Ado About Nothing" (Claudio), and "Measure for Measure" (Lucio), but scored a major success portraying Percy in "Rattle of a Simple Man" in 1961, making his Broadway debut in the play two years later. Woodward would make fine use of his mastery of the spoken word by putting out a host of audio books.
A gifted singer who produced over a dozen musical recordings, Edward displayed his excellent singing pipes on Broadway as Charles Condomine in "High Spirits" (1963), the musical adaptation of Noël Coward's "Blithe Spirit," that also starred Tammy Grimes, Louise Troy and the legendary Beatrice Lillie. He also went on to win the Variety Award ("Best Performance in a Musical") for his lead role of Sydney Carton in a musical version of the Dickens classic "Two Cities." Other non-musical stage work would include the comedy "The Best Laid Plans," an acclaimed title role in "Cyrano de Bergerac," as well as noble appearances in "The White Devil," "Babes in the Wood" (as Robin Hood), "The Wolf," "The Male of the Species," "The Beggar's Opera" (as Macheath), "Private Lives" and "The Dead Secret."
Although in movies from 1955, it was TV that earned him his initial star in England. Feature film roles in such acclaimed period costumers as Becket (1964) and Young Winston (1972) were overshadowed by his more successful work on the smaller screen, especially his weary spy in the popular series Callan (1967). A brilliant performance in the film The Wicker Man (1973) and in a few others led to international stardom as court-martialed Lt. Harry Morant in the classic Aussie-made historical drama Breaker Morant (1980) directed by Bruce Beresford.
Woodward was finally granted some attention in the States at age 55, earning his own popular series, the noirish espionage series The Equalizer (1985). Served up best in crime, historical and political intrigue, he has been completely at home playing no-nonsense authoritarians and brooding loner types. Following the series' cancellation, he returned to British TV with the mystery In Suspicious Circumstances (1991), but was never far away from the US shores. Maturing roles in advancing years included a wide range of characters -- everything from Merlin to the Ghost of Christmas Present in mini-movie formats.
Woodward continued to work here and abroad up until his death. Later feature films included a top-billed role in the horror film The Appointment (1982); a top brass role in the action thriller The Final Option (1982); a featured role in the horse-racing biopic Champions (1984); as King Saul in the biblical story King David (1985); another Bruce Beresford directed film with Mister Johnson (1990); the ghost of a murderer in the black comedy Deadly Advice (1994); the 18th century patriarch of The House of Angelo (1997), which he produced and also featured his three children; a lord in the action adventure The Abduction Club (2002); a featured part in the comedy action Hot Fuzz (2007) and, his last, a reverend in the drama A Congregation of Ghosts (2009). TV appearances included recurring/regular roles in the British series: Nice Work (1980), Five Days (2007) and EastEnders (1985); plus the American series Over My Dead Body (1990) and the Canadian series La Femme Nikita (1997).
Woodward married actress Venetia Barrett (nee Collett) in 1952 and had three children, all of whom went into acting: Tim Woodward, Peter Woodward and Sarah Woodward. After his tabloid divorce (after over 30 years) from his first wife, he quickly married lovely actress Michele Dotrice in 1987, the sister of former 1960s' Disney child star Karen Dotrice of Mary Poppins (1964) fame. He and Michele produced one child, Emily. The subject of This Is Your Life (1955) on two separate occasions, the actor survived two major heart attacks before dying of pneumonia at age 79 on November 16, 2009, in Cornwall, England.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lucy Woodward is known for The Possession (2012), The Blind Side (2009) and What a Girl Wants (2003).- Actress
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Slim and sultry brunette singer/songwriter Keren Jane Woodward was born on April 2, 1961 in Bristol, England. Woodward first met fellow musician Sarah Dallin at age five while attending St. George's School for Girls. A classically trained musician, Keren briefly worked for the BBC prior to forming the all-girl pop group Bananarama with Woodward and Siobhan Fahey in 1979. Bananarama enjoyed a steady succession of hit songs throughout the 80s that include "I Heard a Rumour," "Love in the First Degree," "Cruel Summer," and "Venus." Fahey left in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan, who also eventually left the group in 1991. Woodward and Dallin continue to tour and record as a duo as Bananarama. Moreover, Keren was once involved with model David Scott Evans; the pair had a son named Thomas before splitting up. As of August 2017 Woodward lives in London, England, having moved from Cornwall after splitting with her longtime partner Andrew Ridgeley, whom she first met in the mid 80s.- Actor
- Stunts
- Writer
Born Brian William Woodward in Dagenham, Essex, England.
Graduating from the school of Northern Film and Drama (2012), Brian has appeared in various BBC, ITV and Channel 4 drama's such as Downton Abbey, Emmerdale and Suspects appearing long side actors Michael Gambon, Robert Pugh, Brendan Coyle and Fay Ripley.
His film work includes the BBC film Common and in 2013 Brian was cast as Thaliard in the Italian made film Pericles-Prince of Tyre.
Brian has a black belt in Judo and Brithai Karate and has been British National Champion in various styles of martial arts. He also achieved a Guiness World Judo throwing record in 1994 and World Points Champion in 1999.- David Woodward is known for The Bagley Boys (2019).
- Actor
- Stunts
Liam Woodward is known for A Final Hit (2015), Perky Pubes (2015) and Time Has a Funny Way of Selling Itself Short (2016).- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Craggy-faced, athletic veteran character actor who played hard-bitten or menacing types in numerous westerns and crime dramas. One of five brothers, Woodward grew up in Arlington, Texas. He had a keen interest in aviation early on and took flying lessons from 1941, getting his pilot's license and subsequently served in both World War II (Army Air Corps) and Korea (Military Air Transport Command). Woodward first acted at Arlington State College, majoring in music and drama. He appeared for a while with the Margo Jones Repertory Theatre '47 in Dallas and then went back to study for a degree in corporate finance at the University of Texas, graduating in 1948. At one time, he sang with a jazz band and as a member of a barber shop quartet as well as having a regular weekly gig as a talk show host on local radio. Possessed of a powerful bass-baritone voice, Woodward's ultimate ambition had been to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. That didn't pan out. Neither did his hope that moving to Hollywood in 1955 might open the door to a career in musicals. Instead, he successfully auditioned at Disney for The Great Locomotive Chase (1956), followed by a part in the western pioneer saga Westward Ho, the Wagons! (1956). His first big break was as co-star opposite Hugh O'Brian in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955), playing the role of Earp's deputy Shotgun Gibbs for four seasons. This effectively typecast him as a western genre actor with a record number of guest spots on Gunsmoke (1955) and Wagon Train (1957). Nonetheless, his most famous role was that of ""the man with no eyes", a sinister chain gang overseer in Cool Hand Luke (1967), distinguished by perpetually wearing reflective sunglasses. He also made two appearances on Star Trek (1966) (most famously as Simon Van Gelder, the first human with whom Spock 'mind melds') and played the shrewd Armani-suited oil tycoon Punk Anderson in 55 episodes of Dallas (1978).
Thomas Morgan Woodward was awarded the Golden Boot Award from the Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Fund in August 1988. In 2009, he became an inductee into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Privately, he was a respected authority on Early American Aircraft. According to his website, his main hobby was "restoring, rebuilding and flying antique airplanes".- Bill Woodward is known for A Shadow in the Streets (1975).
- Marian Woodward is known for back2one (2014).