The Entertainment Community Fund’s Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative

The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actor’s Fund) is a national human services organization that helps address the specific needs of actors and other entertainment professionals — with a unique understanding of the challenges involved with a life in the arts and the knowledge of what it takes to thrive in an often-unpredictable industry.

In recognition of Women’s History Month, the Entertainment Community Fund shines a spotlight on the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative.

Founded in 1996 by Fund trustee Phyllis Newman, the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative is a safe place for women to turn to for support when faced with a serious medical diagnosis.

A luminary in the performing arts and entertainment industry, Newman worked for more than 50 years on Broadway and in television and film, winning the 1962 Tony Award for her performance in Subways Are for Sleeping and receiving the inaugural Isabel Stevenson Award in 2009 for her philanthropic and humanitarian work with the Health Initiative.

A cancer survivor, Newman became an advocate for women’s health after being diagnosed with breast cancer and bravely sharing her feelings about her diagnosis and experience.

In her words,

“I know from personal experience the fear and pain that can spring from a major medical crisis. In 1983, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, which led to a double mastectomy. At the time, you didn’t hear a lot of inspirational stories, and you didn’t know many people who were survivors because everyone was so quiet about it. This is no longer the case.

Today, my female colleagues in entertainment have Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative: a safe place to go to address serious medical concerns and get confidential and compassionate help.”

Staffed by experienced and caring social workers, women can turn to the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative for help navigating the steps following a life-changing diagnosis and nurturing support through individual counseling, support groups, connection to community resources and more.

Newman’s legacy lives on through the program she founded and the women it continues to help. The services of Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative are available to all women working in performing arts and entertainment, with eligibility for financial assistance determined through an application, interview and documentation of professional earnings.

To learn more, please visit entertainmentcommunity.org/PNWHI.