Joan Woodbury

Father Elmer owned a hotel; mother Joan Hedenfeldt, a one-time vaudevillian, was a Pasadena Tournament of Roses Queen of 1907. Her parents divorced when Joan was 10. Following this Joan's mother entered her daughter into a convent and pursued a European operatic career for several years before returning.

Tall, provocative actress Joan Woodbury (aka Nana Martinez) was born Joanne Elmer Woodbury in Los Angeles, California, on December 17, 1915. Of Danish, English and Indian heritage, she was educated for seven years in a convent. Trained in dance, she was already performing in her mid-teens by the time she graduated from Hollywood High School. A solo dancer at one point with the Agua Caliente dance company, she broke into films at age 19, her exotic beauty being her "in" to the picture business. For many years Joan was relegated to atmospheric bit parts as assorted dancing girls, barmaids, secretaries and the like. Once she progressed to co-starring roles, her characters often provided a foreign allure (Hispanic, French, Asian) playing femmes with such desirous names as Lolita, Dolores and Toto.

Appeared in her first film at age 6 in The Half Breed (1922) starring Wheeler Oakman. Her first professional lead was in the Hopalong Cassidy western The Eagle's Brood (1935) billed as "Nana Martinez".

Woodbury was featured in a number of "Charlie Chan" entries of the 1930s, particularly Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) wherein she turned heads performing a very sultry dance routine.

She managed to churn out a feisty score of ladies and girlfriends for about a decade and a half (1934-49).

A resilient western player as well, she appeared opposite a number of cowboy heroes including William Boyd when she played her memorable role as Dolores in The Eagle's Brood (1935).

Her first co-starring role, in fact, came opposite sagebrush star Tim McCoy (in a dual role) in Bulldog Courage (1935).

Was chosen to be premiere ballerina for the Corps de Ballet's Opera Under the Stars at the Hollywood Bowl Grand Opera Festibval in 1936.

Opened a dance school in 1944. Jennifer Jones became a student.

One of her finest moments in the limelight has to be her titular role in the Columbia serial Brenda Starr, Reporter (1945), in which she gave a fine, spirited performance as the intrepid heroine.

After retiring from films in the 1960s, Woodbury became a producer/director of grand and light operas for the Redlands (California) Bowl. Married twice -- to actor/producer Henry Wilcoxon and then actor Ray Mitchell -- Joan and her second husband subsequently co-founded the Palm Springs-based Valley Players Guild, staging plays that featured other veteran performers.

An artist, photographer and photo collector, she later had special exhibitions of her art work. In 1963 she hosted a local series "Adventure in Art" on KCHU-TV.

According to Laura Wagner's article on Joan in Film of the Golden Ages, Spring 2015 issue, Joan was considered a child prodigy. At three she was performing in concert. At six she was fluent in two languages; was an excellent child horsewoman; and danced and played the piano.