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Elinor “Nell” Theresa Newman was born in New York City on April 8, 1959 to film stars Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Nell and her sisters were raised in Westport, Connecticut in a country home her parents purchased in 1964, but traveled often to California with their Hollywood star parents. 

Nell was the oldest of the three daughters born to Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Her younger sisters include Melissa “Lissy”, and Clea Olivia. They also have two half-sisters, Susan Kendall and Stephanie, and a half-brother Scott (1950-1978) from Paul’s first marriage to actress Jackie Witt. 

She and her siblings had many pets, including a ferret and a skunk, as well as eight dogs and chickens. Their quiet upbringing in Connecticut was far removed from the glamorous life of Hollywood movie stars and gave Nell a love of nature, ecology, organic food, gardening, and sustainability. She had a passion for birds, particularly the peregrine falcon. At a young age she understood the fatal effects of DDT pesticide on the falcon population leading them to near extinction.  

Nell’s parents influenced her in many ways. Her mother gave her a love of cooking and she learned fly fishing and race car driving from her father. Her childhood film career was thanks to both, and her commitment to philanthropy was developed by seeing her father give the profits from his company to charity and found the Hole in the Wall Children’s Camp for seriously ill children and their families. 

Nell’s film career began in 1968 at age 9 using the stage name “Nell Potts.” Her father directed, and her mother starred in, the film “Rachel, Rachel.” Nell portrayed her mother’s character as a child.  In 1972, she again acted in a film starring her mother and directed by her father. This time she portrayed her mother’s daughter, Matilda Hunsdorfer, in “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds,” a role for which she received critical acclaim. 

In 1987, she graduated from College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, ME, a small liberal arts college that only awards degrees in human ecology with a focus in arts and design, environmental sciences, humanities, international studies, sustainable food systems, and socially responsible business.  While still in college she helped her father write a cookbook, “Newman's Own Cookbook: A Veritable Cornucopia of Recipes, Food Talk, Trivia, and Newman's Pearls of Wisdom” (Contemporary Books, 1985). 

Following graduation, she worked for the Environmental Defense Fund in New York City, but left for a quieter life in California. She was the Executive Director of Ventana Wilderness Sanctuary and worked for Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group as a fundraiser. 

Her passions led her to eventually begin her own organic food company, Newman’s Own Organics: The Second Generation. Nell had always used organic ingredients in her cooking, but in 1992 she served her family a completely organic Thanksgiving meal and pointed it out to her father. She soon after came up with the motto ‘Great tasting products that happen to be organic.’ This inspired her father to offer to pay her, and her business partner Peter Meehan, $30,000 each for the first year of research to start their own company. They eventually paid him back for everything including their salaries, with money left over for charity. Their first product was organic pretzels, a savvy move, as pretzels were her father’s favorite snack. Newman’s Own Organics has grown to include many other snacks and pet food. By 2015, it owned over 150 SKUs and donated more than $50 million to charity. Nell left the company that same year. 

A second book written by Nell is a handbook to environmentally conscious living: “The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures That Benefit You and the Place You Live”  (Villard, 2003). 

Nell has been married to Gary Irving, a surfer, artist, and filmmaker from Wales, since February 17, 2005. They have no children, but she has two nephews by her sister, Lissy. 

In 2014, Newman received the prestigious Rachel Carson Award from The National Audubon Society for her environmental leadership.   

In 2017, Newman was inducted into the Specialty Food Hall of Fame, which “honor(s) individuals whose accomplishments, impact, contributions, innovations, and successes within the specialty food industry deserve praise and recognition. 

Nell is President of Nell Newman Foundation which she founded in 2010. She also currently serves as a board member of Ecotrust in Portland, Oregon. She is a past Board member of the Wholesome Wave Foundation and Allergy Kids.  

Related Links:

Nell Newman Foundation