Ilene Woods was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the daughter of "a backstage mom" who was responsible for Ilene getting her show biz start on the stage--at age two! At 14, during a vacation in New York City, she received an offer to top-line her own radio show once she became available at the end of that school year. "The Ilene Woods Show," a three-nights-a-week, 15-minute musical series, soon started its run on the Blue Network with the teenager as its star. Radio work in Chicago preceded a move to California, her first and only on-screen movie role heard her voice on the recordings, he chose her to voice that film's title role. Woods, married at age 17, had three children, a girl and two boys; when the third was born, she "re-cast" herself in the role of full-time wife and mother.
Gave birth to her 1st child at age 18, a daughter Stephanie Joan Steck on May 14, 1947. Childs father was her 1st [now ex] husband, Stephen Steck.
Gave birth to her 3rd child at age 39, a son Daniel Shaughnessy on September 24, 1968. Childs father was her 2nd husband, Ed Shaughnessy.
Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 36, a son James Kenneth Shaughnessy on April 4, 1966. Childs father was her 2nd husband, Ed Shaughnessy.
Her son James died in a car accident in San Bernardino, California on April 13, 1984 at age 18.
She revealed in a 1995 interview for Cinderella that when the film was released in 1950 she took her daughter Stephanie who was 3 at the time to the premiere and when the movie came on Stephanie screamed in the theater My mommy is Cinderella! And two old ladies sitting behind them turned to each other and said Isnt that sweet! She thinks her mother is Cinderella!.
She was cremated and her ashes given to her family.
