Susan Kendall Newman, actress and daughter of Paul Newman, dies at 72

Susan Kendall Newman, the award-winning actress and philanthropist daughter of the late Paul Newman, has died. She was 72.

An obituary posted Tuesday in The New York Times announced that she died on Aug. 2 from complications from chronic health conditions.

Newman, who was born in 1953 as the second of her father’s three children with his first wife Jackie Witte, made a name for herself as a prolific television producer, philanthropist, and actress. She began her acting career appearing in productions on and off Broadway as well as in films; most notably she played one of six teenagers trying to get into the Beatles’ first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1978’s I Wanna Hold Your Hand, directed and co-written by Robert Zemeckis.

The actress made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1975 play We Interrupt This Program before collaborating with her father onscreen in 1977’s Slap Shot, and appearing in the 1978 Robert Altman movie A Wedding.

As a producer, Newman worked on her father’s 1980 ABC Theatre production of Michael Cristopfer’s play The Shadow Box, which starred her stepmother, Joanne Woodward, and Christopher Plummer. The project earned her a Golden Globe and Humanitas Award, as well as nods for the Emmy, Peabody, and Grammy Awards.

She also produced a family-friendly audiobook series of classical literature for Simon & Schuster, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for Children.

Newman worked alongside her father via the Scott Newman Center for drug abuse prevention, which the Oscar winner founded after the death of his eldest son Scott, who appeared in such films as The Towering Inferno (1974) and Breakheart Pass (1975) before he died in November 1978 from a drug overdose.

Newman joined the foundation honoring her older brother in 1980, serving in multiple leadership roles and eventually becoming Executive Director. During her tenure there, she became a respected drug abuse prevention expert, testifying before Congress, the Attorney General’s Commission, and other federal agencies. She was a frequent speaker at the Betty Ford Center and the Annenberg Complex, and addressed audiences at universities, hospitals, community groups, and government bodies across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Mexico. She also advised the California Department of Education on progressive classroom programs addressing media influence on substance use.

For her work in that role, Newman received recognition from the San Francisco City Council, former first ladies Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan, the governors of Kentucky, Iowa, and Utah, as well as the California Peer Counseling Association and the Odyssey Foundation’s Benefactor’s Award.

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Later in life, she expanded “her advocacy on education, juvenile justice, conservation, and healthcare,” per the obituary.

“She was instrumental in shaping the philanthropic strategies of a private foundation and took pride in helping identify impactful grassroots organizations, support at-risk communities often overlooked by mainstream philanthropy, and develop innovative approaches to disaster relief through local endowments,” it noted.

The obituary added, “Susan Kendall Newman will be remembered for her sharp wit and tongue, generosity and love, and her devotion to family and friends.”