Susan Hayward: The Life Story Behind Hollywood's Fiery Star
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Susan Hayward burned bright, and she burned fast. She was a fiery redhead from Brooklyn, with a voice that could be soft and then suddenly sharp, with eyes that could be tender and then suddenly angry, and with a talent for playing women who were tough, passionate, and alive. She did not play sweet, quiet girls. She played women who fought, who loved, who suffered, and who refused to give up. Audiences loved her for it, because she felt real, because she felt human, and because she gave everything she had to every role.
She came from a poor family in Brooklyn, she worked as a model, she came to Hollywood hoping to play Scarlett O’Hara, and she did not get the part. She stayed anyway, she worked her way up from small parts to leading roles, she was nominated for five Academy Awards, and she won one, for I Want to Live!, in which she played a woman on death row. She was one of the most respected dramatic actresses of her time, and she was one of the most passionate.
Her private life was as fiery as her films. She married twice, she raised twin sons, she lived in Georgia, and she faced illness in her final years. She died at fifty-seven, too young, and she left behind a legacy of powerful, honest acting that still moves people today. This is the story of a Brooklyn girl who became a fiery star, and of what that fire cost her.
A Brooklyn Girl With Fire
Susan Hayward was born Edythe Marrenner on 30 June 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were Walter and Ellen Marrenner, and the family was not rich. Her father worked as a transport worker, and her mother worked to help support the family. Susan grew up in Brooklyn, in a world of streets, schools, and ordinary people, and she learned early what it meant to work hard, to be tough, and to stand up for herself. She was a lively girl, she was pretty, and she had a temper, and she was not afraid to show it.
As a young girl, she was hit by a car, and she was badly hurt. She spent time recovering, and she learned to be patient, to be brave, and to keep going when things were hard. The accident left her with a limp for a time, and it taught her that life can change in an instant, and that health is not something to take for granted. Those lessons stayed with her for the rest of her life, and they shaped the way she thought about work, about family, and about the fragility of life.
She went to school in Brooklyn, and she learned to act in school plays. She was a good student, and she was a talented performer, and she dreamed of a life on stage. She worked as a model in New York, and she appeared in advertisements and in magazines. She was beautiful, with red hair and a strong face, and photographers liked her. She learned how to pose for a camera, how to smile, and how to make a photograph work. Those lessons would help her later in Hollywood, where a photograph could make a career.
In the late 1930s, she heard that Hollywood was looking for an actress to play Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, one of the most famous films ever made. She went to Hollywood to try for the part, and she did not get it. The part went to Vivien Leigh, and Susan was disappointed, but she did not give up. She stayed in Hollywood, she signed with a studio, and she began to work her way up. She was in her early twenties, and she was about to become a film actress, not as Scarlett, but as herself, a fiery redhead from Brooklyn with a talent for drama.
Small Parts and a Slow Rise
When Susan Hayward signed with a studio, she was given small parts at first. She appeared in films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and she learned how a film set worked. She learned to hit her mark, to speak her lines clearly, to work with different directors, and to make the most of a short scene. She was pretty, she was talented, and she was professional, but Hollywood had many pretty and talented young women. She needed a role that would show what she could really do, and she had to wait for it.
She appeared in Beau Geste in 1939, and in other films that gave her a chance to act, but she was still waiting for her breakthrough. She worked steadily, she earned her living, and she learned her craft. She was a working actress, not a star, and she was patient, but she was also frustrated. She knew she had talent, and she wanted to show it, but the studio did not always give her the chance. She kept working, she kept learning, and she kept waiting, because she believed that her time would come.
She married the actor Jess Barker in 1944, and the marriage gave her twin sons, Timothy and Gregory, born in 1945. She loved her sons deeply, and she tried to balance her work with her family. That balance was hard, because film work took her away from home for long hours, and because the studio expected her to be available whenever it needed her. She did her best, and she loved her children, and she kept her family at the centre of her life. Her marriage to Barker later ended in divorce, in 1954, after ten years.
In the late 1940s, she began to get better roles, and she began to show her talent for drama. She appeared in Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman in 1947, in which she played a singer who becomes an alcoholic, and she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. It was her first Oscar nomination, and it was a well-deserved honour. She had worked for ten years, she had taken small parts, and now she had been recognised as a serious actress. The nomination changed her career, and it gave her more choices, and more respect in Hollywood.
Smash-Up, Nominations, and a Reputation for Fire
After Smash-Up, Susan Hayward became known as a dramatic actress who could play tough, passionate women. She was nominated for an Academy Award again for My Foolish Heart in 1949, for With a Song in My Heart in 1952, in which she played the singer Jane Froman, and for I’ll Cry Tomorrow in 1955, in which she played the singer Lillian Roth, who also struggled with alcohol. She was nominated five times in total, and each nomination showed that Hollywood respected her as one of the best dramatic actresses of her time.
She played women who were flawed, who made mistakes, who suffered, and who fought to survive. She did not play perfect women, and she did not play sweet, quiet girls. She played real women, with real problems, and she played them with honesty and with passion. Audiences loved her for it, because she felt real, and because she gave everything she had to every role. She was not afraid to be unlikable, to be angry, or to be sad, and that courage made her a great actress.
She also starred in David and Bathsheba in 1951, a biblical film in which she played Bathsheba, and in other films that showed her range. She was versatile, she was skilled, and she was beautiful, and she made each film better by being in it. She was at the peak of her career, and she was one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood. She had come a long way from Brooklyn, and she had earned her place.
Her fiery reputation was not only on screen. She was known in Hollywood as a woman with a temper, who spoke her mind, and who did not accept nonsense. She was direct, she was honest, and she was not afraid to argue with a director or a studio executive if she thought she was right. That directness made her difficult to work with sometimes, but it also made her respected, because people knew that she cared about her work, and that she would fight for a good performance.
I Want to Live! and the Oscar
In 1958, Susan Hayward starred in I Want to Live!, a film based on the true story of Barbara Graham, a woman who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the gas chamber in California. Susan played Graham with a raw, powerful, and heartbreaking honesty that shocked audiences and critics alike. She showed Graham as a tough, funny, frightened woman, who was not perfect, who had made mistakes, but who did not deserve to die. The film was a powerful statement against the death penalty, and Susan’s performance was at its centre.
She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for I Want to Live!, and it was a well-deserved honour. She had been nominated four times before, and she had waited for more than ten years for the award. The Oscar recognised her talent, and it showed that Hollywood respected her as one of the best actresses of her generation. She was proud of the award, and she should have been. It was a reward for years of hard work, and it was a sign that she had reached the top of her profession.
The film was difficult to make, and it was difficult to watch. Susan had to play a woman who is facing death, who is frightened, who is angry, and who is trying to hold on to hope. She did it with a courage that few actresses could match, and she made audiences feel Graham’s fear, her anger, and her humanity. That is a great performance, and it is one that is still remembered today as one of the best in film history.
The Oscar changed her career, but it did not change her. She stayed the same fiery, honest woman she had always been, and she kept working. She appeared in other films in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and she continued to give strong performances. She was a star, and she knew it, but she was also a worker, and she did her job with skill and with care. The Oscar was a recognition, not a retirement, and she kept going.
Georgia, Family, and a Quieter Life
In 1957, Susan Hayward married Floyd Eaton Chalkley, a businessman from Georgia, and the marriage gave her a new kind of life. She moved to Georgia, she lived on a farm, and she enjoyed a quieter life away from Hollywood. She loved Georgia, she loved the land, and she loved the slower pace of life there. She was still a film star, but she was also a wife, a mother, and a woman who enjoyed her home. The marriage lasted until Chalkley’s death in 1966, and it was a happy one.
She raised her twin sons in Georgia, and she tried to give them a normal life, away from the glare of Hollywood. She was a devoted mother, and she loved her sons deeply. She also worked in films when she wanted to, and she appeared in television shows, but she did not need to work all the time. She had a home, she had a family, and she had a life that was her own. That balance was important to her, and it gave her a sense of peace that Hollywood had not always given her.
She also became involved in her community in Georgia, and she was respected as a neighbour, not only as a star. People in Georgia knew her as Susan, not only as Susan Hayward, and they liked her for it. She was direct, she was honest, and she was kind, and she fit into the life of a small town in a way that many Hollywood stars could not. She was a Brooklyn girl who had become a Georgia woman, and she was happy in both worlds.
The quieter life in Georgia was a good one, but it was also a time of change. The kind of film that had made her famous was fading, and she worked less in films. She did not mind, because she had her family, her home, and her life in Georgia. She had come a long way from Brooklyn, and she had found a place where she could be herself, away from the cameras, and she valued that.
Illness and a Life That Ended Too Soon
In the early 1970s, Susan Hayward became ill. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour, a serious and difficult illness, and she faced it with courage. She underwent treatment, she tried to keep working, and she tried to live her life as normally as possible, but the illness was a heavy burden. She did not make a public drama of her illness, and she kept her private life private. Her family knew that she was ill, and they supported her. She died on 14 March 1975 in Hollywood, California, at the age of fifty-seven. She was still young by the standards of a long life, and her death shocked many people who remembered her as the fiery, passionate star of the 1940s and 1950s.
Her funeral was attended by friends from Hollywood, and she was buried in Georgia, in the state she had come to love. The tributes that followed remembered her as a talented, passionate actress who had given everything she had to every role, and who had been loved for it. She was not remembered as a difficult star, or as a woman who had fought with studios, but as a hard-working professional who had done her job well and had been loved for it. That was a fitting tribute, because it matched the way she had lived.
Her legacy is tied to I Want to Live!, to Smash-Up, to I’ll Cry Tomorrow, and to the many other films in which she played tough, passionate women. She showed the world that a woman could be fiery, could be angry, could be flawed, and could still be loved. Her films are still shown today, and they still give pleasure to people who like powerful, honest acting. She is remembered as one of the greatest dramatic actresses in Hollywood history, and as a woman who worked hard for every step she took.
The illness that took her life was a reminder that fame does not protect a person from the ordinary sorrows of life. She had money, she had fame, and she had the love of her family, but she still faced illness and death like everyone else. Her story is not only about success. It is also about the cost of success, and about a woman who faced that cost with courage and with grace.
What Fire Means in Acting
Susan Hayward’s fire was not only about anger. It was about passion, about energy, and about a willingness to feel deeply and to show it. She played women who loved deeply, who suffered deeply, and who fought deeply, and she did it with an honesty that made audiences believe her. That fire is a rare gift, and it is a gift that should be respected, because it takes courage to feel deeply in front of a camera, and to let the audience see it.
She also showed that fire can be a form of strength. She was not a quiet, passive woman. She was a woman who spoke her mind, who fought for what she believed in, and who did not give up. That strength is easy to miss, because it can look like anger, but it is real, and it matters. Susan Hayward proved that a woman can be fiery and strong, and that she can be loved for it, not in spite of it, but because of it.
Her life also shows that fire can burn out too soon. She died at fifty-seven, and she had more to give. She could have lived longer, she could have worked longer, and she could have enjoyed her family for more years. Her death is a reminder that life is short, even for a person who seems to have everything, and that we should value the time we have. That is a sad lesson, but it is a true one, and it is one that Susan’s story teaches us.
A Singer’s Roles and a Voice That Carried Pain
Susan Hayward played singers more than once, and she played them with a depth that showed her understanding of music, of performance, and of pain. In With a Song in My Heart, she played Jane Froman, a real singer who was badly hurt in a plane crash, and who kept singing, even after her injuries. In I’ll Cry Tomorrow, she played Lillian Roth, a singer who struggled with alcohol, and who tried to recover, and to rebuild her life. Both roles asked Susan to sing, to act, and to show a woman who was talented, who was hurt, and who kept going, and she did it with an honesty that made audiences believe her.
She was not a trained singer, but she had a strong voice, and she used it well in those films. She sang with feeling, she sang with passion, and she made the songs feel like a part of the character’s life, not only like a performance. She understood that singing, like acting, is about telling a story, and about making people feel something real. She did that, and she was nominated for Academy Awards for both films, which shows how much Hollywood respected her work in them.
Those roles also show that Susan understood addiction, and the struggle to recover from it. She played women who drank too much, who made mistakes, and who tried to change, and she played them without judging them, without making them seem simple, and without making their recovery seem easy. She showed the pain, the struggle, and the hope, and she did it with compassion. That is a difficult thing to do, and she did it beautifully. I think about the people who watched those films and saw themselves, or saw someone they loved, and who felt less alone, because Susan had shown their pain on screen.
My Take:
When I think about Susan Hayward, I think first about fire, and about how rare true fire is. Fire is not only about anger. It is about passion, about energy, and about a willingness to feel deeply and to show it. Susan had that fire in her acting, and she had it in her life. She was a Brooklyn girl with a temper, with a strong voice, and with a talent for playing women who fought, who loved, and who refused to give up. That is a beautiful thing, and it is a thing I admire deeply, because fire is hard to keep, especially in a world that often tells women to be quiet, to be sweet, and to be obedient.
I admire her honesty most of all. She played women who were flawed, who made mistakes, who suffered, and who fought to survive. She did not play perfect women, and she did not pretend that her characters were perfect. She played them with honesty, and she let audiences see their flaws, their pain, and their strength. That honesty is a rare gift, and it is a gift that should be respected, because it takes courage to be honest in front of a camera, and to let the audience see the truth. Susan had that courage, and she used it in every role.
What makes me sad about her story is that she died at fifty-seven, too young, from a brain tumour. She had lived a full life, she had raised her twin sons, she had won an Oscar, and she had become a star, but she still had more to give. She could have lived longer, she could have worked longer, and she could have enjoyed her family for more years. Her death is a reminder that life is short, even for a person who seems to have everything, and that we should value the time we have. I feel sad for her family, for her friends, and for the fans who loved her, and who lost her too soon.
I also feel sad about the way she was sometimes seen as difficult. She had a temper, she spoke her mind, and she did not accept nonsense, and some people in Hollywood called her difficult because of it. I think that is unfair, because she was not difficult for the sake of being difficult. She was difficult because she cared about her work, and because she wanted a good performance. She fought for her roles, and she fought for the truth in her acting. That is not difficulty. That is professionalism, and it deserves respect, not criticism.
I think about her work in I Want to Live!, and I am moved when I remember it. She played Barbara Graham, a woman on death row, and she played her with a raw, powerful honesty that shocked audiences. She showed Graham as a tough, funny, frightened woman, who was not perfect, but who did not deserve to die. The film is a powerful statement against the death penalty, and Susan’s performance is at its centre. I think about the people who watched that film and thought differently about the death penalty, because of Susan. That is a powerful influence, and it is one that lasts longer than any single film.
I think about her work in Smash-Up, and in I’ll Cry Tomorrow, and I admire it too. She played women who struggled with alcohol, who made mistakes, and who tried to recover. She played them with honesty, and she did not make them seem simple or easy. She showed the pain of addiction, the struggle to change, and the hope of recovery. That is a difficult thing to do, and she did it with skill and with compassion. I think about the people who watched those films and saw themselves, or saw someone they loved, and who felt less alone, because Susan had shown their pain on screen. That is a gift, and it is a gift that Susan gave through her acting.
Her life in Georgia is the part of her story that makes me feel happy. She married Floyd Chalkley, she moved to Georgia, she lived on a farm, and she enjoyed a quieter life away from Hollywood. She adored Georgia, its land, and its slower pace of life. She was still a film star, but she was also a wife, a mother, and a neighbour, and she was happy in that life. That is a beautiful thing, and it tells me a lot about Susan. She did not need Hollywood to be happy. She needed a home, a family, and a place where she could be herself, and she found all three in Georgia.
If I could ask her one question, I would ask her how she kept her fire when Hollywood tried to cool it down. She was a fiery woman in a business that often wanted women to be sweet and quiet. How did she keep her passion, her temper, and her honesty? I think she would laugh, and she would say that she never let anyone else decide who she was, and that she always trusted herself. That is good advice, and it is advice that comes from a life lived with courage.
In the end, I feel both admiration and sadness when I think about Susan Hayward. Admiration for her fire, her honesty, her Oscar, and her powerful acting. Sadness for her early death, for the way she was sometimes called difficult, and for a life that ended too soon. Both feelings are true, and both belong in her story. She was not only a fiery star on screen. She was a woman who worked hard, loved her family, and gave everything she had to every role. That is the Susan Hayward I want to remember.
I also learn from her that honesty in acting matters. She did not play perfect women, and she did not pretend that life is easy. She played real women, with real problems, and she played them with truth. That honesty helped audiences to feel less alone, and to see themselves on screen. That is a lesson for all of us, because the world needs more honesty, and more people who are willing to show the truth, even when it is painful. Susan shows us how to do that, with courage and with grace.
I think her legacy is a good one, and I think it is worth remembering. She showed the world that a woman could be fiery, passionate, and strong, and that a dramatic actress could be one of the best in Hollywood. Her films are still shown today, and they still give pleasure to people who like powerful, honest acting. She gave joy, and pain, and truth, to millions of people, and she did it with fire. That is a life worth celebrating, and it is a life worth telling. When I think of Susan Hayward, I think of a woman in a red dress on a canyon cliff, her hair blowing in the wind, fierce, beautiful, and free, and I smile, because that image is beautiful, and it will last.
I also think about the young women today who are fiery, who speak their minds, and who dream of a life in acting. Susan Hayward proves that it is possible, and that hard work, honesty, and passion can change a life. She proves that you do not need to be sweet and quiet to be a star. You need to be true, to be brave, and to keep going. That is a message of hope, and it is a message that still matters. I hope that young women who read about Susan Hayward will feel that hope, and will believe in themselves, as she believed in herself.
I keep thinking about the way she played Barbara Graham in I Want to Live!, because that role captures everything I admire about Susan. She played a woman on death row, a tough, funny, frightened woman, who was not perfect, but who did not deserve to die. She played her with a raw, powerful honesty that shocked audiences, and that made them think differently about the death penalty. I think about the people who watched that film and thought about justice, about mercy, and about the value of a human life. That is a powerful influence, and it is one that lasts longer than any single film, because it lives in the minds of the people who were moved by it.
I also think about her life in Georgia, and about how it gave her a sense of peace that Hollywood had not always given her. She married Floyd Chalkley, she moved to Georgia, she lived on a farm, and she enjoyed a quieter life away from the cameras. She loved Georgia, she loved the land, and she loved the slower pace of life there. She was still a film star, but she was also a wife, a mother, and a neighbour, and she was happy in that life. That balance is important, because fame can be loud and demanding, and a quiet home can be a refuge. Susan found that refuge in Georgia, and she valued it.
There is another part of her story that stays with me, and it is her honesty about addiction. She played women who struggled with alcohol, in Smash-Up and in I’ll Cry Tomorrow, and she played them with honesty, without making them seem simple or easy. She showed the pain of addiction, the struggle to change, and the hope of recovery. That is a difficult thing to do, and she did it with skill and with compassion. I think about viewers who recognised their own lives in those films, or the life of someone dear to them, and who found comfort in seeing that pain shown honestly on screen. That is a gift, and it is a gift that Susan gave through her acting.
I wonder what she would say to a young actress today who is fiery, who speaks her mind, and who is being told to be quieter, to be sweeter, and to be less passionate. I think she would laugh, and she would say, be true, be brave, and keep going. I think she would tell that young actress to work hard, to be honest, and to refuse to pretend to be someone she is not. That is good advice, and it is advice that comes from a life lived with fire, honesty, and courage.
I also think about the way she was nominated five times for an Academy Award, and about what those nominations mean. Five nominations is a remarkable achievement, and it shows that Hollywood respected her as one of the best dramatic actresses of her time, year after year, film after film. She was nominated for Smash-Up, My Foolish Heart, With a Song in My Heart, I’ll Cry Tomorrow, and I Want to Live!, and she won once, for the last of these. That record tells us that she was not a one-film wonder. She was a consistently great actress, who gave powerful performances again and again, and who earned the respect of her peers, her directors, and her audiences.
Finally, I think about her as a Brooklyn girl who became a star, and I find that inspiring. She did not come from wealth, she did not come from Hollywood, and she did not have an easy start. She came from a working-class family, she was hurt in an accident as a child, she worked as a model, and she went to Hollywood hoping to play Scarlett O’Hara, and she did not get the part. She stayed anyway, she worked her way up, and she became one of the greatest dramatic actresses in Hollywood. That is a story of hope, and it is a story that still matters to young people today who come from difficult backgrounds and dream of a bigger life.
That is why I will keep watching her films, and why I will keep telling her story, with gratitude for the fire she gave us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Susan Hayward’s Oscar-winning role?
She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for I Want to Live! in 1958, in which she played Barbara Graham, a woman on death row in California, in a powerful performance based on a true story.
How many times was Susan Hayward nominated for an Oscar?
She was nominated five times for Best Actress, for Smash-Up, My Foolish Heart, With a Song in My Heart, I’ll Cry Tomorrow, and I Want to Live!, winning once for the last of these.
Where was Susan Hayward born?
She was born Edythe Marrenner on 30 June 1917 in Brooklyn, New York, where she grew up in a working-class family before working as a model and moving to Hollywood.
Did Susan Hayward try to play Scarlett O’Hara?
Yes, she went to Hollywood in the late 1930s hoping to play Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, but the part went to Vivien Leigh, and Susan stayed in Hollywood to build her own career.
When did Susan Hayward die?
She died of a brain tumour on 14 March 1975 in Hollywood, California, at the age of fifty-seven, after a career as one of Hollywood’s most respected dramatic actresses.
What was Susan Hayward’s life in Georgia like?
She married Floyd Eaton Chalkley in 1957, moved to Georgia, lived on a farm, raised her twin sons there, and enjoyed a quieter life away from Hollywood until his death in 1966.
