Attractive without being conventionally beautiful, Woodward specialized in portraying frustrated, emotionally wrought characters over the next decade, giving compelling performances in THE LONG HOT SUMMER (1958), THE FUGITIVE KIND (1959) and, in a difficult part originally planned for Marilyn Monroe, THE STRIPPER (1963). She received widespread acclaim as a spinster trying to change her introverted ways in RACHEL, RACHEL (1968), the first directorial outing for Paul Newman, her husband since 1958.
Woodward has appeared in eleven films opposite Newman; although a number of them RALLY 'ROUND THE FLAG, BOYS! (1958), A NEW KIND OF LOVE (1963) are far from either actor's best, they also include the offbeat and interesting FROM THE TERRACE (1960), PARIS BLUES (1961), and THE DROWNING POOL (1976). Most recently, the Merchant Ivory production, MR. & MRS. BRIDGE (1990) capitalized on the long-married couple's legendary standing in a sensitive study of emotional sterility. Woodward has also been directed by Newman, most typically as genteel mothers of variable levels of stability, in THE EFFECT OF GAMMA RAYS ON MAN-IN-THE-MOON MARIGOLDS (1972), HARRY AND SON (1984) and THE GLASS MENAGERIE (1987), and on TV in "The Shadow Box" (1980). She returned to features to bring a similar grace to a small part as Tom Hanks' mother in the AIDS drama, PHILADELPHIA, and to narrate Martin Scorsese's screen adaptation of Edith Wharton's THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (both 1993).
TV has regularly given stellar opportunities to Woodward, especially over the past two decades, with rewarding roles in drama specials and TV-movies including "All the Way Home" (1971), "Sybil" (1976), "Crisis at Central High" (1981) and "Breathing Lessons" (1994). Her zestful energy and her propensity to play characters striving for self-expression were channeled into ideal, Emmy-winning roles in "See How She Runs" (1978), as a middle-aged woman who takes up marathon running, and "Do You Remember Love" (1985), as a poet fighting against the effects of Alzheimer's Disease. Woodward was also regularly seen from 1986 to 1988 hosting operas on "Live at the Met", and won another Emmy as host and co-producer of the "American Masters" presentation, "Broadway Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre" (1989). She and Newman spent much of their time espousing liberal causes and building a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses. They received lifetime achievement awards from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1992.
Actress 1957: THE THREE FACES OF EVE
Nominated for Actress 1968: RACHEL, RACHEL
Nominated for Actress 1973: SUMMER WISHES, WINTER DREAMS
Nominated for Best Performance By an Actress in a Leading Role 1990: MR. & MRS. BRIDGE
4 nominations, 1 Award