Jackie Witte is a name that is remembered as the ex-wife of the famous Hollywood actor Paul Newman. These junior-year lovers made their way to exchanging rings and stayed together in a marriage for nine years.
Paul Newman died in 2008 at the age of 83 years, but the question that people are actually interested to know is about the demise of his first wife.
In this article, you will get a quick look into the life of Paul Newman’s ex-wife in detail. Let’s begin!
Who was Jackie Witte?
Jacqueline “Jackie” Emilie Witte was born in September 1929 and died around 1993. She was 19 years old when she met her fellow struggling actor Paul Newman.
Witte’s height was tall, and her appearance was blonde with dark eyes. Jackie was struggling in the industry when she started dating her ex-husband. Later on, she also did some modeling assignments after her marriage.
The details about the upbringing of her life are not much available. She was a great woman who raised her three children well and dedicated her life to her family.
Let us have a quick look at several aspects of the life of the first wife of Paul Newman.
| Name | Jackie Witte |
| Full Name | Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Emilie Witte (McDonald) |
| Year of Birth | 1929 |
| Year of Death | Estimated 1993 |
| Age | Approx 64 years |
| Gender | Female |
| Ex-Husband | Paul Newman |
| Nationality | American |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Married Years | 1949-1958 |
| Children | Three |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Profession | Model and Stage Actor |
| Well Known as | First Wife of Paul Newman |
Relationship between Jackie and Paul Newman
Paul and Jackie met each other during a stage work, and they ignored the 5-year age gap between them and began dating.
The couple started dating and then got married within a year in 1949. Back then, Jackie was a college student when the duo decided to take their relationship to the next level.
According to the production, Jackie also once stated that they used to spend most of their time together. After their marriage in 1949, the couple shared a lot of good and hard times by having each other.
The unexpected passing of the father of Paul Newman also led their way to several struggles. Jackie completely supported Paul during these hard times and backed him into working on their family business of sports goods store.
She helped Paul in their family business in Cleveland, Ohio, and further stood by his side to pursue his career and passion for acting.
During these times, Jackie used to travel to New York City in search of modeling projects, and later on, the couple permanently moved to New York.
In their nine years together, she gave birth to their first child Alan Scott Newman in 1950. Later, the couple was blessed with two beautiful daughters named Susan and Stephanie in 1953 and 1954, respectively.
According to the information available through docuseries, Jackie came to know about the extramarital affair of her husband right after the birth of their third child.
Paul Newman and Jackie Witte enjoyed the best of their lives until Paul cheated on her with a fellow actress Joanne Woodward.
Witte chose to find a way to work things out with her husband and protect her family; however, things didn’t work out, and the couple separated and divorced in 1958.
Several Life events after the divorce from Paul Newman
The divorce of Jackie and Paul at that time was the biggest news so far because of his involvement with fellow actress Joanne Woodward.
The life of Jackie Witte completely changed after her divorce. She moved to Westport, Connecticut, with her kids from New York after her divorce.
She chose to raise her children and take care of them. Because of their involvement with the kids, Paul and Jackie stayed on good terms to give them a better life.
It further led to a state of distress for the duo when their only son Alan Scott Newman died in 1978 because of a Barbiturate drug overdose and alcohol poisoning.
Speculations behind the death of Jackie Witte
According to a few reports, Jackie left this world in the year 1993 at the age of 64, but the reason for her death is still unknown.
The family never made any public declaration about the real reason for the demise of Witte. No cause nor place has been shared by the near ones of the first wife of Paul Newman.
Several people wanted to know about her obituary’s whereabouts, so they could know the reason behind her death.
As the family decided not to reveal much about her death, it is better not to speculate about any possibility.
However, we are hoping that, possibly in any documentary or future literary work, reveal the real reason and place of the death of Witte.
Final Thoughts
Many people also speculated during the marriage of Paul and Witte that they took the decision so fast.
There were also rumors that because of pregnancy of Jackie, the couple took this decision. However, the rumors got a full stop when their first child was born after a long time.
It was hard for everyone to believe that the duo took divorced. They were too young then and believed to be mad in love before marriage.
It was great to know how this beautiful soul managed to raise her kids after her divorce. Jackie and Paul stayed in touch with each other because of their kids.
The real reason behind Jackie Witte’s death is still unclear to anyone, but we hope to update you soon whenever we come across anything related to her demise in the near future.
