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Joanne Woodward as Supporting Roles: The 4 Times Star Shined Without Being Lead Actress

By    |   Friday, 15 May 2015 03:58 PM EDT

Nominated for three Best Actress Academy Awards during her long acting career – and winning one for her role as Eve White in "The Three Faces of Eve" – Joanne Woodward is no stranger to the spotlight. But the actress also doesn't mind sharing it with other leading ladies. Here are four roles where Woodward shined playing supporting roles on either the big or small screen.

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1. Carol Cutrere, "The Fugitive Kind" (1960)
In "The Fugitive Kind," Woodward shared the spotlight with another leading lady of her era, Anna Magnani. In the film she plays Carol Cutrere, an over-sexed alcoholic, who tries to win over drifter Valentine Xavier played by Marlon Brando. Brando's character, however, is more interested in Magnani, who is playing a sex-starved store owner whose husband is dying of cancer.

2. Cornelia Wilbur, "Sybil" (1976)
Woodward shared the spotlight with Sally Field in the 1976 made for TV miniseries "Sybil." In this drama, which aired on NBC and is based on the book by the same name, Woodward's role is of compassionate psychiatrist Cornelia Wilbur who is trying to help Field's character integrate her 16 different personalities. It was also a role change for Woodward, who usually plays the mentally ill character. Woodward earned her first Emmy nomination for this role (she did not win).

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3. Francine Whiting, "Empire Falls" (2005)
Woodward was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy in the Best Supporting Actress category for her work on the 2005 television adaption of Richard Russo's novel "Empire Falls." She played the role of Francine Whiting, the domineering matriarch of a small New England town, and was part of an ensemble cast that also included Ed Harris, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and her husband Paul Newman in this two part HBO miniseries.

4. Mary, "A Big Hand for the Little Lady" (1966)
In the action adventure comedy "A Big Hand for the Little Lady," which is set in Laredo, Texas, and centers around an annual high-stakes poker game, Woodward plays the disapproving wife of a recovering gambler played by Henry Fonda. Her character, Mary, must step in and save the family fortune after the stress of the game becomes too much for her husband.

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FastFeatures
Nominated for three Best Actress Academy Awards during her long acting career – and winning one for her role as Eve White in "The Three Faces of Eve" – Joanne Woodward is no stranger to the spotlight.
hollywood, joanne woodward
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2015-58-15
Friday, 15 May 2015 03:58 PM
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