Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward Then & Now: Photos Of The Couple’s Romance

An original Hollywood power couple. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s first met in 1953 but they five-decade-long romance didn’t start until years later when they worked on 1957’s ‘The Long, Hot Summer’ together. The on-screen chemistry proved real and Paul quickly divorced wife Jackie Witte to wed Joanne.

Over the years the couple would continue to be creative partners, acting opposite one another in ‘From The Terrace’ and ‘A New Kind Of Love’, while Joanne also led Paul’s first directorial effort ‘Rachel, Rachel’. The pair were also active philanthropists and vocal supporters of Democratic causes. The couple, who share three daughters, were married from 1958 up until Paul’s death at age 83 in 2008.

“People stay married because they want to, not because the doors are locked,” Paul once said in an interview.

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward appear at a screening for the TV show ‘Empire Falls’ in May 2005.

Want to see more photos of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward over the years? Click through the gallery.