Susan Kendall Newman, Paul Newman’s daughter, dies at 72

Susan Kendall Newman, an actress, producer and longtime philanthropist who was the eldest daughter of actor Paul Newman, died on August 2 at age 72 from complications related to chronic health conditions, her family said in an obituary posted Oct. 7. Newman’s work in theater and film and her decades of advocacy on substance abuse prevention and other social causes drew recognition across the arts and nonprofit sectors.

Newman began her career on and off Broadway, making her stage debut in the 1975 play We Interrupt This Program. She moved into film in the late 1970s, appearing as a teenage fan in the 1978 Beatles comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand and in small roles in the films Slap Shot and A Wedding. She later shifted her focus to producing, overseeing a 1980 television adaptation of Michael Cristofer’s play The Shadow Box for a national network. That production, directed by her father and starring Joanne Woodward and Christopher Plummer, earned her a Golden Globe and a Humanitas Award and drew nominations for Emmy and Peabody honors.

Her producing credits also include a family audiobook series of classical literature that received a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album...