JOANNE WOODWARD'S DAUGHTERS REMEMBER She Was OUR ROCK

THE ACTRESS ALWAYS STAYED STRONG FOR HER FAMILY, NO MATTER WHAT

- Lisa Chambers

Even with Oscar-winning success and a famed marriage to Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward faced the same struggle as all working mothers: balancing home life and career. But at 35, Joanne made a decision. As she later recalled, after having her third daughter, Clea, “I realized that moment was more important. That’s when I really stopped acting. I thought this is my last child, and everything was so special that I didn’t want to miss any of it. I wish I’d been sensible enough to recognize that about each of them.”

Despite her regrets, Joanne has led a long, full life, and her three daughters, Nell, 64, Melissa, 61, and Clea, 58, remain devoted to their now 93-year-old mom, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Raised primarily in Westport, Conn., by their loving parents — “they always held hands, always,” Clea tells