Basic Information
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Claire “Clea” Olivia Newman |
| Known as | Clea Newman |
| Born | 1965 (widely reported) |
| Parents | Paul Newman (1925–2008) and Joanne Woodward |
| Siblings | Elinor “Nell” Newman (b. 1959), Melissa “Lissy” Newman (b. 1961); half-siblings: Scott (1950–1978), Susan Kendall, Stephanie |
| Spouse | Kurt Soderlund (married 2003, widely reported) |
| Children | None publicly known |
| Education | Reported to have attended Sarah Lawrence College |
| Occupations | Philanthropy leader/ambassador, production and post-production professional in television |
| Notable for | Stewardship of family philanthropic legacy, especially SeriousFun Children’s Network (Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and global partners) |
Origins and Education
Claire “Clea” Olivia Newman grew up in a household where film sets and charity fundraisers were equally familiar terrain. The youngest daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, she entered a family story already humming with purpose: art, activism, and a commitment to making the world tangibly better. While her parents were fixtures on marquee posters, the lesson at home skewed toward humility and service.
Reports place her at Sarah Lawrence College—like her mother—an environment known for creative rigor and independent study. Early on she explored practical paths, including brief forays into law-related work, before aligning with the family’s philanthropic architecture. That pivot set the course: rather than chase celebrity, Clea would become the fuse that keeps her father’s philanthropic engine sparking.
The Philanthropic Throughline
To understand Clea, it helps to understand the enterprise she helps shepherd. Paul Newman’s Newman’s Own—established in 1982—committed its profits to charitable causes, an audacious model that poured hundreds of millions of dollars into community needs over time. In 1988 came the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut, a summer camp for children with serious illnesses that would eventually seed a global constellation now known as the SeriousFun Children’s Network.
Clea has been a visible and steady presence across that network: leadership and ambassador roles, fundraising events, keynote remarks, interviews that foreground the camps’ transformative effect on families. She doesn’t treat the work as heritage display; she treats it like a living organism that needs tending. At galas and camp celebrations, she’s both storyteller and advocate, stitching together the organization’s past and its next chapter. Her voice often strikes the note her parents favored: pragmatic optimism, compassion with guardrails, joy as medicine.
Work Behind the Camera
Even as philanthropy anchors her public role, Clea has carved out a parallel career in television. It’s largely backstage work—production management, associate producing, post-production coordination—the kind of credits casual viewers don’t read but insiders value. That vantage suits her temperament: meticulous, collaborative, deadline-literate.
- Production and post-production coordination on television projects
- Associate producer and production management roles
- Consulting and behind-the-scenes logistics
The throughline between the nonprofit sphere and production is unmistakable: both require budget sense, team orchestration, and a knack for getting big things done without chasing the spotlight. In both realms, Clea’s contributions are the quiet keystones that keep the arch from collapsing.
Family Tree at a Glance
| Name | Relation | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Newman | Father | 1925–2008 | Actor, race car driver, philanthropist; co-founder of Newman’s Own (1982) and Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (1988) |
| Joanne Woodward | Mother | b. 1930 | Oscar-winning actress; married Paul Newman in 1958 |
| Elinor “Nell” Newman | Sister | b. 1959 | Environmental entrepreneur; co-founded Newman’s Own Organics |
| Melissa “Lissy” Newman | Sister | b. 1961 | Artist and singer; active in the arts |
| Scott Newman | Half-brother | 1950–1978 | Actor; his passing inspired the Scott Newman Center |
| Susan Kendall Newman | Half-sister | — | Film and nonprofit involvement; public voice on family legacy |
| Stephanie Newman | Half-sister | — | Maintains a lower public profile |
| Kurt Soderlund | Spouse | m. 2003 | Executive leadership in international water-access initiatives |
Timeline of Key Milestones
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1958 | Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward marry. |
| 1965 | Birth year widely reported for Claire “Clea” Olivia Newman. |
| 1982 | Newman’s Own formalizes “profits to charity” model, shaping the family’s public service ethos. |
| 1988 | Hole in the Wall Gang Camp launches; the SeriousFun network later grows to dozens of camps and programs worldwide. |
| 2003 | Clea marries Kurt Soderlund, associated with global safe-water initiatives. |
| 2008 | Paul Newman passes away; the family’s stewardship of his philanthropic mission intensifies. |
| 2010s–present | Clea serves in ambassador/leadership capacities for SeriousFun; appears at high-profile events and in interviews about the camps’ impact. |
| 2022 | Renewed public focus through documentary projects spotlighting the Newman-Woodward legacy. |
| 2025 | Centennial year of Paul Newman’s birth; Clea’s reflections on love, service, and legacy amplify the family’s mission. |
The Work, in Practice
Philanthropy at scale is logistics with a heartbeat. Clea’s role often means aligning donors with impact, translating medical complexity into camp accessibility, and bridging the distances—geographic, cultural, emotional—between a child’s diagnosis and a week that feels like normal life. Numbers tell part of the story: dozens of partner camps and programs, hundreds of thousands of experiences delivered to children and families since 1988, and a durable funding model anchored by her father’s ethos.
Behind the scenes she’s also a collaborator on program storytelling—helping directors, editors, and producers render the camps’ intangible magic into tangible narratives. That dual fluency makes her rare: she speaks both the language of budgets and the poetry of outcomes.
Public Presence and Voice
Clea’s public footprint is selective by design. She surfaces for the moments that matter—camp anniversaries, gala seasons, legacy conversations—and defers the gossip-stage glare. In interviews she’s frank about the privileges and complexities that come with her last name, yet she crowds the spotlight with the children the camps serve. Think of her as a lighthouse keeper: visible enough to guide, steady enough to weather storms, never confusing the light’s purpose with her own silhouette.
What We Don’t Know (and Why That Matters)
Some details simply remain private. There is no authoritative public figure for Clea’s personal net worth, and many online numbers are speculative. The privacy is consonant with the family’s broader philosophy: let the impact be measured in campers served, communities engaged, and stories redeemed—not in celebrity ledgers.
FAQ
Who is Claire “Clea” Olivia Newman?
She is the youngest daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, known for her leadership and ambassadorial work in the SeriousFun Children’s Network and for behind-the-scenes roles in television production.
What is her connection to the Hole in the Wall Gang and SeriousFun?
She supports and represents the global camp network her father helped found, appearing at events, advocating for programs, and helping sustain the mission.
Did she follow her parents into acting?
Not as a primary path; Clea’s career centers on philanthropy and production/post-production roles behind the camera.
Where did she go to school?
She is reported to have attended Sarah Lawrence College, echoing her mother’s academic path.
Is she married?
Yes. She is widely reported to have married Kurt Soderlund in 2003; he has held leadership roles in international water-access initiatives.
Does she have children?
There are no publicly known children.
What is her net worth?
No credible public figure exists; published estimates online are typically speculative.
What are her siblings’ names?
Her sisters are Elinor “Nell” Newman and Melissa “Lissy” Newman; half-siblings include Scott, Susan Kendall, and Stephanie.
How does she participate in preserving her parents’ legacy?
Through public advocacy, organizational leadership, and collaborative work on documentaries and events that connect new audiences to the family’s philanthropic mission.
