American actor, filmmaker and philanthropist Paul Newman was BOTD in 1925. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he studied at the Yale School of Drama and at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg. Handsome, athletic and charismatic, he took Broadway by storm with a starring role in William Inge’s play Picnic, and was soon lured to Hollywood, making his first film in 1954. He achieved major stardom and sex symbol status in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a heavily censored adaptation of Tennessee Williams‘ play co-starring Elizabeth Taylor, followed by charismatic bad boy roles in The Hustler, Hud and Cool Hand Luke. His pairing with Robert Redford in the 1969 Western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid became one of Hollywood’s best-loved bromances. He continued working into old age, appearing in films including The Towering Inferno, The Color of Money (for which he won an Oscar), The Hudsucker Proxy and voice work in the Cars movies. He also co-founded Newman’s Own, a food company selling salad dressing and other condiments that donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity, and the SeriousFun Children’s Network, a global chain of programmes for children with serious illnesses. Newman was married twice and had six children. His second marriage, to the actress Joanne Woodward, lasted for 50 years. One of Hollywood’s most revered couples, they also worked together on the films Rachel, Rachel and The Glass Menagerie (both directed by Newman) and played husband and wife in James Ivory‘s film Mr and Mrs Bridge. When asked about the longevity and of their marriage and his reputation for fidelity, Newman famously quipped, “Why go out for a hamburger when you have steak at home?” A number of recent biographies published after his death, tell a different story. Newman’s bisexuality was well-documented, clocking up an astonishing number of sexual conquests including Taylor, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Anthony Perkins, Steve McQueen, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy. The actor Rod Steiger said of him, “Hell, he was so fucking beautiful. Everybody wanted him, and he was willing to share with both men and women. Paul was so pretty I would have fucked him if he asked me to, and I’m about the straightest actor in the business.”