Susan Hayward

Susan Hayward - Film & Theater Personalities, Family and Childhood

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Susan Hayward Biography Stories 

Susan Hayward's Personal Details

Susan Hayward was an American actress who started as a fashion model and then moved to Hollywood to act in films

InformationDetail
BirthdayJune 30, 1917
Died onMarch 14, 1975
NationalityAmerican
FamousFilm & Theater Personalities, Actresses
SpousesFloyd Eaton Chalkley, Jess Barker
SiblingsFlorence, Walter
Known asEdythe Marrenner
ChildrensTimothy and Gregory
Birth PlaceBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
GenderFemale
FatherWalter Marrener
MotherEllen Pearson
Sun SignCancer
Born inBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
Famous asActress
Died at Age57

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Susan Hayward's photo

Who is Susan Hayward?

Susan Hayward was an American actress who started as a fashion model and then moved to Hollywood to act in films. She came from a poor family living in a poor neighborhood and had to wear the same clothes for weeks and even months. She had to sell discarded junk for food consisting mainly of day-old bread sold at a fraction of its cost. She decided that getting into the movies was the only way to get out of the awful situation. Her determination to become a movie star helped her fight her way to reach the top. She was a fighter from the start, fighting her way to the top, fighting to remain at the top during the turbulent 1950s and fighting with the brain cancer for a long time that ultimately took her life. She became the model image of a woman fighting for survival against all odds. After trying for 20 years she was able to win nominations for the ‘Oscar Award for Best Actress’ four times and ultimately the prize in 1958. After winning the Oscar it seemed that she had achieved what she had set out to do when she stopped making too many films after that.

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Childhood & Early Life

Susan Hayward was born Edythe Marrenner in a Brooklyn suburb in New York City, New York, United States on June 30, 1917. Her father, Walter Marrener, was a subway guard and Coney Island barker and her mother was a Swedish stenographer named Ellen Pearson.

She had an older sister named Florence and an older brother named Walter.

She attended the ‘Girls Commercial High School’ and instead of becoming a secretary decided to do modeling in New York.

In 1937 David O. Selznick saw her on the cover of the ‘Saturday Evening Post’ and tested her for the role of ‘Scarlett O’Hara’ in ‘Gone with the Wind’ in Hollywood. She failed the test and Selznick advised her to forget Hollywood and go back home.

She was determined to stay in Hollywood and met Benny Medford through a freak biking accident. Edythe convinced him of giving her a role and he signed her up as Susan Hayward.

Career

She made her Hollywood debut in 1937 with Holiday Hotel’ where she was given a small role after signing a contract with ‘Warner Bros’.

She was able to get bit parts only in ‘Girls on Probation’ in 1938 and ‘Comet Over Broadway’ the same year.

In 1939 she got her first important role in ‘Beau Geste’ where she played the role of a young innocent girl who loses her fiancé to the Foreign Legion.

She started getting noticed and got an opportunity to compete with Ingrid Bergman as a scheming vixen in ‘Adam Had Four Sons’ in 1941. In the same year she played the character of a greedy mill worker involved with a psychotic killer in ‘Among the Living’.

She was not satisfied with the number of roles she got and even challenged the head of the ‘Paramount Studios’, Y. Frank Freeman’ at an exhibition’s luncheon for giving her a break.

She started getting better roles after that like a supporting role in the Cecil B. DeMille’s epic ‘Reap the Wild Wind’ in 1942 starring John Wayne and Paulette Goddard, a comedy ‘I Married a Witch’ in 1942 with Veronica Lake in the lead role and a World War II drama ‘The Fighting Seabees’ in 1944 opposite John Wayne which made her very popular.

After completing her contract she started freelancing with ‘Deadline at Dawn’ in 1946 where she played the role of a nightclub dancer trying to help a sailor accused of murder.

She teamed up with independent producer Walter Wanger to make ‘Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman’ in 1947 in which she played the part of a married singer who becomes an alcoholic. She got her first ‘Oscar Best Actress’ nomination but lost the to Loretta Young.

She got her second Oscar nomination for the film ‘My Foolish Heart’ in 1949 where she appeared again as an alcoholic.

She signed up with ‘20th Century Fox’ and acted in ‘With a Song in My Heart’ in 1952 which was a biography of singer Jane Froman. She won her third Oscar nomination with the film.

A fourth nomination came her way when she was loaned out to ‘MGM’ where she played the best role of her career as an alcoholic singer and also sang in the film ‘I’ll Cry Tomorrow’ made in 1955.

After her breakup with Jess Baker and marriage with Floyd Eaton Chalkley, she teamed up again with Wanger to act in the film ‘I Want to Live’ in 1958 in which she played the part of a petty criminal ‘Barbara Graham’ sentenced to death for crime she did not commit. For this role she won the ‘Best Actress Award’ from the ‘New York Film Critics’ and also an Oscar.

After winning the Oscar she left Hollywood to live with Chalkley in Georgia and made only a few films which includes a medical drama ‘I Thank a Fool’ in 1962 and ‘Stolen Hours’ in 1963, which was a remake of Bette Davis’ ‘Dark Victory’.

In 1964 she travelled to Los Angeles to make the film ‘Where Love Has Gone’.

While making ‘Honey Pot’ in Venice, Italy, in 1965 she got the news of her husband’s illness and left without completing the film.

After Chalkley’s death in 1966 Hayward acted in some unsuccessful movies like ‘The Valley of Dolls’ in 1967 in place of Judy Garland and the musical ‘Mame’ at ‘Caesar’s Palace’ in Las Vegas.

Around this time she was diagnosed with lung cancer, which ultimately spread to her brain.

She announced her retirement from films after acting in the film ‘The Revengers’ and a TV movie ‘Say Goobye, Maggie Cole’, both of which were made in 1972.

She made her final appearance during the 1974 Oscar ceremony when she and Charlton Heston presented the ‘Best Actress’ award.

Awards & Achievements

Susan Hayward received four nominations for 'Academy Award for Best Actress' in 1947, 1949, 1852 and 1955.

She received the ‘New York Film Critics Best Actress Award’ and finally the ‘Oscar Award’ for 'Best Actress' in 1958.

Personal Life & Legacy

She married actor Jess Barker in 1944 and divorced him in 1954. She had had twin sons from this marriage - Timothy and Gregory.

Thereafter, she married Floyd Eaton Chalkley in 1957 and lived with him till his death in 1966.

She had an automobile accident at the age of 7 and was bedridden for months.

Susan Hayward died in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, on March 14, 1975.

Trivia

It is said that Susan Hayward was inflicted with lung cancer after getting exposed to nuclear radiation during the making of ‘The Conqueror’ in 1956 in the Utah desert where nuclear tests were carried out earlier.

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Susan Hayward's awards

YearNameAward

Academy Awards(Oscars)

1959Best Actress in a Leading RoleI Want to Live! (1958)

Golden Globe Awards

1959Best Actress - DramaI Want to Live! (1958)
1953Best Actress - Comedy or MusicalWith a Song in My Heart (1952)
1953World Film Favorite - FemaleWinner

Susan Hayward biography timelines

  • // 30th Jun 1917
    Susan Hayward was born Edythe Marrenner in a Brooklyn suburb in New York City, New York, United States on June 30, 1917. Her father, Walter Marrener, was a subway guard and Coney Island barker and her mother was a Swedish stenographer named Ellen Pearson.
  • // 1937
    In 1937 David O. Selznick saw her on the cover of the ‘Saturday Evening Post’ and tested her for the role of ‘Scarlett O’Hara’ in ‘Gone with the Wind’ in Hollywood. She failed the test and Selznick advised her to forget Hollywood and go back home.
  • // 1937
    She made her Hollywood debut in 1937 with Holiday Hotel’ where she was given a small role after signing a contract with ‘Warner Bros’.
  • // 1938
    She was able to get bit parts only in ‘Girls on Probation’ in 1938 and ‘Comet Over Broadway’ the same year.
  • // 1939
    In 1939 she got her first important role in ‘Beau Geste’ where she played the role of a young innocent girl who loses her fiancé to the Foreign Legion.
  • // 1941
    She started getting noticed and got an opportunity to compete with Ingrid Bergman as a scheming vixen in ‘Adam Had Four Sons’ in 1941. In the same year she played the character of a greedy mill worker involved with a psychotic killer in ‘Among the Living’.
  • // 1944 To 1954
    She married actor Jess Barker in 1944 and divorced him in 1954. She had had twin sons from this marriage - Timothy and Gregory.
  • // 1946
    After completing her contract she started freelancing with ‘Deadline at Dawn’ in 1946 where she played the role of a nightclub dancer trying to help a sailor accused of murder.
  • // 1947
    She teamed up with independent producer Walter Wanger to make ‘Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman’ in 1947 in which she played the part of a married singer who becomes an alcoholic. She got her first ‘Oscar Best Actress’ nomination but lost the to Loretta Young.
  • // 1949
    She got her second Oscar nomination for the film ‘My Foolish Heart’ in 1949 where she appeared again as an alcoholic.
  • // 1952
    She signed up with ‘20th Century Fox’ and acted in ‘With a Song in My Heart’ in 1952 which was a biography of singer Jane Froman. She won her third Oscar nomination with the film.
  • // 1955
    A fourth nomination came her way when she was loaned out to ‘MGM’ where she played the best role of her career as an alcoholic singer and also sang in the film ‘I’ll Cry Tomorrow’ made in 1955.
  • // 1956
    It is said that Susan Hayward was inflicted with lung cancer after getting exposed to nuclear radiation during the making of ‘The Conqueror’ in 1956 in the Utah desert where nuclear tests were carried out earlier.
  • // 1957 To 1966
    Thereafter, she married Floyd Eaton Chalkley in 1957 and lived with him till his death in 1966.
  • // 1958
    After her breakup with Jess Baker and marriage with Floyd Eaton Chalkley, she teamed up again with Wanger to act in the film ‘I Want to Live’ in 1958 in which she played the part of a petty criminal ‘Barbara Graham’ sentenced to death for crime she did not commit. For this role she won the ‘Best Actress Award’ from the ‘New York Film Critics’ and also an Oscar.
  • // 1958
    She received the ‘New York Film Critics Best Actress Award’ and finally the ‘Oscar Award’ for 'Best Actress' in 1958.
  • // 1962 To 1963
    After winning the Oscar she left Hollywood to live with Chalkley in Georgia and made only a few films which includes a medical drama ‘I Thank a Fool’ in 1962 and ‘Stolen Hours’ in 1963, which was a remake of Bette Davis’ ‘Dark Victory’.
  • // 1964
    In 1964 she travelled to Los Angeles to make the film ‘Where Love Has Gone’.
  • // 1965
    While making ‘Honey Pot’ in Venice, Italy, in 1965 she got the news of her husband’s illness and left without completing the film.
  • // 1966 To 1967
    After Chalkley’s death in 1966 Hayward acted in some unsuccessful movies like ‘The Valley of Dolls’ in 1967 in place of Judy Garland and the musical ‘Mame’ at ‘Caesar’s Palace’ in Las Vegas.
  • // 1972
    She announced her retirement from films after acting in the film ‘The Revengers’ and a TV movie ‘Say Goobye, Maggie Cole’, both of which were made in 1972.
  • // 1974
    She made her final appearance during the 1974 Oscar ceremony when she and Charlton Heston presented the ‘Best Actress’ award.
  • // 14th Mar 1975
    Susan Hayward died in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, on March 14, 1975.

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Susan Hayward's FAQ

  • What is Susan Hayward birthday?

    Susan Hayward was born at 1917-06-30

  • When was Susan Hayward died?

    Susan Hayward was died at 1975-03-14

  • Where was Susan Hayward died?

    Susan Hayward was died in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States

  • Which age was Susan Hayward died?

    Susan Hayward was died at age 57

  • Where is Susan Hayward's birth place?

    Susan Hayward was born in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

  • What is Susan Hayward nationalities?

    Susan Hayward's nationalities is American

  • Who is Susan Hayward spouses?

    Susan Hayward's spouses is Floyd Eaton Chalkley, Jess Barker

  • Who is Susan Hayward siblings?

    Susan Hayward's siblings is Florence, Walter

  • Who is Susan Hayward childrens?

    Susan Hayward's childrens is Timothy and Gregory

  • Who is Susan Hayward's father?

    Susan Hayward's father is Walter Marrener

  • Who is Susan Hayward's mother?

    Susan Hayward's mother is Ellen Pearson

  • What is Susan Hayward's sun sign?

    Susan Hayward is Cancer

  • How famous is Susan Hayward?

    Susan Hayward is famouse as Actress