Melissa Newman

Melissa Stewart "Lissy" Newman (born September 27, 1961) is an American artist, singer and former actress who appeared in the 1990 film Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, and at the 30th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. A year later, she appears in Sometimes a Great Notion, as Lissy Stamper, the daughter of Joe Ben (Richard Jaeckel) and Jan (Linda Lawson).

Personal life

Melissa Newman was born in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California, the daughter of famous American actors Joanne Woodward (born 1930), and Paul Newman (1925–2008), and the younger sister of Elinor Teresa ("Nell") Newman (born 1959, as a child actress also known under the name of Nell Potts), and a younger sister, Claire Olivia ("Clea") Newman (born 1965). She was born on the same day in September 1961 that her parents' film Paris Blues was released in the U.S.

She grew up shuttling back and forth with her well-known actor parents between opposite U.S. coasts of Westport, Connecticut in the East of New England and Hollywood / Los Angeles, on the West Coast.

In 2023, young Newman published a book of personal photos and letters of her parents' relationship spanning over several decades entitled "Head Over Heels: Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman: A Love Affair in Words and Pictures" that included never before seen love letters and rare photos by acclaimed artists such as Richard Avedon and Stewart Stern.

Filmography

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990) as Young India Bridge at the Pool See How She Runs (1978) as Janey Quinn (credited as Lissy Newman) Rachel, Rachel (1968) as a girl in the classroom (uncredited)