16 Facts About Joan Woodbury

Joan Elmer Woodbury was an American actress beginning in the 1930s and continuing well into the 1960s.

Joan Woodbury's father was Elmer Franklin Woodbury, and her mother was born Joan Meta Hadenfeldt, whose father, Charles Hadenfeldt, had emigrated to the US from Germany.

Joan Woodbury's mother had been Pasadena's Tournament of Roses 'Rose Queen' six times and had been in vaudeville.

When she was four years old, Joan Woodbury had an 18-year-old live-in governess, Marie Sandow.

Joan Woodbury began dancing for the Agua Caliente dance company and, at 19, decided to attempt a career in acting.

Joan Woodbury moved to Hollywood and that same year received her first acting role in the 1934 film Eight Girls in a Boat, which was uncredited.

Joan Woodbury appeared in 15 films from 1934 through 1935, of which 10 were uncredited.

However, of the three roles that were credited, Joan Woodbury made an impact, and caught the attention of studios.

In 1937, Joan Woodbury starred in her first of several credited Charlie Chan films, titled Charlie Chan on Broadway.

Joan Woodbury began appearing in numerous Westerns, portraying the heroine opposite some of the 1930s' biggest cowboy actors, to include William Boyd of Hopalong Cassidy fame, Roy Rogers, and Johnny Mack Brown.

Joan Woodbury appeared in 50 films from 1937 to 1945, almost all of which were credited.

Joan Woodbury married actor Ray Mitchell in 1971, and they remained together until her death.

Joan Woodbury founded the company Valley Players Guild in Palm Springs, California with her husband Ray Mitchell.

Joan Woodbury's last film appearance was a supporting role in the movie The Time Travelers.

When Joan Woodbury retired, she had appeared in 81 films, though a newspaper article published in 1963 reported that she had appeared in more than 300 films.

Joan Woodbury eventually settled in Desert Hot Springs, California, where she was residing at the time of her death at the age of 73.