Newman, Paul (1925- ), American actor, businessperson, and philanthropist, who won an Academy Award for his role in The Color of Money (1986). He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and educated at Kenyon College. Newman started acting in high school, played in summer stock theater after college, and studied at the Yale School of Drama and the Actors Studio. After a successful Broadway debut in William Inge's Picnic in 1953, Newman signed a film contract with Warner Brothers but briefly returned to the Broadway stage to play in Joseph Hayes's The Desperate Hours. He won critical acclaim for his portrayal of boxer Rocky Graziano in the film Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) by Tennessee Williams.

Some of Newman's finest films were made in the 1960s, including The Hustler (1961), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), Hud (1963), Harper (1966), Hombre (1967), and Cool Hand Luke (1967). He directed his wife, Joanne Woodward, in Rachel, Rachel (1968), and he was executive producer of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), featuring himself and Robert Redford-at the time it was the highest-grossing Western in movie history. Newman and Redford's second film together, The Sting, won the Academy Award for best picture in 1973. From the late 1970s, Newman began to play older and less idealized characters, enhancing his reputation as an accomplished actor in such films as Slap Shot (1977), Absence of Malice (1981), and The Verdict (1982). He won an Academy Award for playing the pool shark Fast Eddie Felson in The Color of Money (1986). In 1987 he directed Woodward in a film remake of Tennessee Williams's play The Glass Menagerie. He also played in Blaze (1989), Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990; with Joanne Woodward), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), and Nobody's Fool (1994), one of his most memorable roles, for which he was voted best actor by the New York Film Critics Circle in 1994.

In 1982 Newman began to market his recipes for spaghetti sauce and salad dressing under the "Newman's Own" label. The company gradually extended its product line, and Newman donated all profits from the business to various charities. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with a humanitarian award in 1994 in recognition of his charitable efforts, including his donation of more than $80 million to various nonprofit organizations.