Paul Newman's Daughter Susan Dead at 72

Susan Newman -- daughter of legendary actor Paul Newman -- has died ... according to an online obituary.

Newman passed away back in August -- though the obituary was only posted online earlier this week -- from "complications from chronic health conditions."

Susan was born to Newman and Jackie Witte in 1953, the second of three children the couple had.

She initially pursued a career in entertainment ... appearing in productions both on and off-Broadway during the early 1970s before she grabbed a starring role in the Robert Zemeckis comedy "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," which also featured Nancy Allen.

Susan eventually decided to leave the stage and screen behind to become a television producer ... she won a Golden Globe for the ABC Theatre presentation of Michael Cristofer's "The Shadow Box."

This job was just another stop on the road to finding her true calling -- philanthropy. She kicked off her career with the Scott Newman Foundation, an org set up in honor of her brother who died of a drug overdose in 1978. She served as the foundation's executive director, and her work with the foundation focused on drug abuse prevention, and she even testified before Congress about drugs.

Other causes close to her heart included family literacy initiatives -- which she helped fund through the production of a Grammy-nominated audiobook series of classic literature -- juvenile justice and cancer research.

Susan Kendall Newman was 72.