Susan Hayward
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Besides her win for "I Want to Live" (1958), Hayward was also nominated for Best Actress for "Smash Up: The Story of a Woman" (1947), "My Foolish Heart" (1950), "With a Song in My Heart" (1952), and "I'll Cry Tomorrow" (1955).
Biography
Pretty, exuberant leading lady who began her Hollywood career in 1937 as a bit player and was a star by the mid-1940s. Talented and tempestuous, with a penchant for playing ripe melodrama with all the stops out, Hayward reached her peak in the early 1950s in such enjoyably sudsy vehicles as "My Foolish Heart" (1950), "With a Song in My Heart" (1952) and "I'll Cry Tomorrow" (1955). She was often cast as the brassy, defiant heroine, as in her Oscar-winning role "I Want to Live!" (1958), where she splendidly played the real-life Barbara Graham, a woman who was wrongly sentenced to death. Hayward's stardom petered out by the mid-60s, but she continued playing occasional leads and character roles (including a part as a past-her-prime film star in the abysmal "Valley of the Dolls" 1969) on film and TV until shortly before her death of a brain tumor in 1975.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (Short)
Life Events
1923
Struck by a car and spent a year recovering from her injuries
1937
Had bit part in "Hollywood Hotel"
1938
Film acting debut in "Girls on Probation"
1941
Played notable early leading or second lead roles in "Among the Living", "Reap the Wild Wind" and "I Married a Witch"
1947
Received first Oscar nomination as Best Actress for "Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman"; star status consolidated by this time
1955
Attempted suicide after custody battle with husband Jess Barker over their twins
1959
Returned to the top ten boxoffice status poll; placed 10th
1964
Last starring vehicle, "Where Love Has Gone"
1972
Last film, "The Revengers"
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Besides her win for "I Want to Live" (1958), Hayward was also nominated for Best Actress for "Smash Up: The Story of a Woman" (1947), "My Foolish Heart" (1950), "With a Song in My Heart" (1952), and "I'll Cry Tomorrow" (1955).