Helen Hayes

Lore & Background

Helen Hayes Brown was born in Washington, D.C., on October 10, 1900. Her mother, Catherine Estelle 'Essie' Hayes, was an aspiring actress who worked in touring companies; her father, Francis van Arnum Brown, held various jobs including clerk and salesman. Hayes began her stage career at age five as a singer at Washington's Belasco Theatre. By age 10, she had made a short silent film, Jean and the Calico Doll (1910). She attended Dominican Academy in Manhattan from 1910 to 1912 and graduated from the Academy of the Sacred Heart Convent in Washington in 1917.

Her sound film debut was The Sin of Madelon Claudet, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She later starred in films such as Arrowsmith, A Farewell to Arms, The White Sister, Another Language, What Every Woman Knows, and Vanessa: Her Love Story. She returned to Broadway in 1935, playing the title role in Victoria Regina for three years. In 1953, she became the first recipient of the Sarah Siddons Award. She won a second Academy Award, for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Airport (1970). Hayes also appeared in Disney films including Herbie Rides Again, One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing, and Candleshoe.

Hayes was a Catholic and a Republican who attended many Republican National Conventions. She delivered a seconding speech for George H. W. Bush's nomination at the 1988 convention. She wrote three memoirs: A Gift of Joy, On Reflection, and My Life in Three Acts. Her daughter Mary died of polio at age 19; her adopted son James MacArthur became an actor. Hayes was hospitalized for asthma, which forced her retirement from theatre in 1971. Her last Broadway show was a 1970 revival of Harvey with James Stewart.

Reader's Guide

Helen Hayes's significance lies in her pioneering achievements in American entertainment. She was the second person and first woman to win all four major American entertainment awards—Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony—known as the EGOT, and the first person to win the Triple Crown of Acting. Her career spanned 82 years, from childhood performances to acclaimed stage and film roles. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1986 and the National Medal of Arts in 1988. The annual Helen Hayes Awards, recognizing excellence in professional theatre in greater Washington, D.C., have been named for her since 1984. Two Broadway theatres have borne her name: the Fulton Theatre (renamed in 1955, demolished in 1982) and the Little Theatre (renamed in 1983). Hayes was also a philanthropist, most proud of her 49-year association with the Helen Hayes Hospital, a non-profit rehabilitative center in West Haverstraw, New York. In 1982, with Lady Bird Johnson, she founded the National Wildflower Research Center. Her legacy endures through these institutions and her status as a trailblazer for women in the performing arts.

Did You Know?

• Helen Hayes was the second person and first woman to win the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).
• She was the first person to win the Triple Crown of Acting.
• The annual Helen Hayes Awards, recognizing professional theatre in greater Washington, D.C., have been named for her since 1984.
• In 1982, she co-founded the National Wildflower Research Center with Lady Bird Johnson.