Joan Woodbury, born Joanne Elmer Woodbury on December 17, 1915, in Los Angeles, California, was a tall and provocative actress of Danish, English, and Indian heritage. She was educated for seven years at a convent school and trained in dance, performing in her mid-teens and graduating from Hollywood High School.
Woodbury's exotic beauty led to her entry into the film industry at the age of 19, initially as a solo dancer with the Agua Caliente dance company. She then transitioned to films, where she was often relegated to atmospheric bit parts as dancing girls, barmaids, secretaries, and the like.
As she progressed to co-starring roles, Woodbury's characters often had a foreign allure, playing femme fatales with sultry names like Lolita, Dolores, and Toto. She managed to churn out a feisty score of ladies and girlfriends for about a decade and a half, from 1934 to 1949.
Woodbury was featured in several "Charlie Chan" entries of the 1930s, including Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937),where she performed a sultry dance routine. She also appeared opposite cowboy heroes like William Boyd in The Eagle's Brood (1935) and Tim McCoy in Bulldog Courage (1935),marking her first co-starring role.
One of her finest moments was in the Columbia serial Brenda Starr, Reporter (1945),where she played the titular role of the intrepid heroine. After retiring from films in the 1960s, Woodbury turned her attention to producing and directing grand and light operas for the Redlands Bowl in California.
Woodbury was married twice, first to actor/producer Henry Wilcoxon and then to actor Ray Mitchell. She and her second husband co-founded the Valley Players Guild in Palm Springs, staging plays featuring other veteran performers.
Joan Woodbury passed away in 1989 at the age of 73 due to a respiratory ailment, leaving behind three children from her first marriage to Wilcoxon.
