Susan Hayward was born Edythe Marrener in Brooklyn, New York, on June
30, 1917. Her father was a transportation worker, and Susan lived a
fairly comfortable life as a child, but the precocious little redhead
had no idea of the life that awaited her. She attended public school in
Brooklyn, where she graduated from a commercial high school that was
intended to give students a marketable skill. She had planned on
becoming a secretary, but her plans changed. She started doing some
modeling work for photographers in the NYC area. By 1937, her beauty in
full bloom, she went to Hollywood when the nationwide search was on for
someone to play the role of Scarlett O'Hara in
Margaret Mitchell's
Vom Winde verweht (1939).
Although she--along with several hundred other aspiring Scarletts--lost
out to Vivien Leigh, Susan was to carve her
own signature in Hollywood circles. In 1937 she got a bit part in
Hollywood Hotel (1937). The bit
parts continued all through 1938, with Susan playing, among other
things, a coed, a telephone operator and an aspiring actress. She
wasn't happy with these bit parts, but she also realized she had to
"pay her dues". In 1939 she finally landed a part with substance,
playing Isobel Rivers in the hit action film
Drei Fremdenlegionäre (1939). In 1941 she played
Millie Perkins in the offbeat thriller
Zum Leben verdammt (1941). This
quirky little film showed Hollywood Susan's considerable dramatic
qualities for the first time. She then played a Southern belle in
Cecil B. DeMille's
Piraten im Karibischen Meer (1942), one
of the director's bigger successes, and once again showed her mettle as
an actress. Following that movie she starred with
Paulette Goddard and
Fred MacMurray in
The Forest Rangers (1942),
playing tough gal Tana Mason. Although such films as
Jack London (1943),
Der Morgen gehört uns (1944) and
Deadline at Dawn (1946)
continued to showcase her talent, she still hadn't gotten the meaty
role she craved. In 1947, however, she did, and received the first of
five Academy Award nominations, this one for her portrayal of Angelica
Evans in
Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947).
She played the part to the hilt and many thought she would take home
the Oscar, but she lost out to
Loretta Young for
Die Farmerstochter (1947).
In 1949 Susan was nominated again for
Angst vor der Schande (1949) and
again was up against stiff competition, but once more her hopes were
dashed when Olivia de Havilland won
for Die Erbin (1949). Now, however,
with two Oscar nominations under her belt, Susan was a force to be
reckoned with. Good scripts finally started to come her way and she
chose carefully because she wanted to appear in good quality
productions. Her caution paid off, as she garnered yet a third
nomination in 1953 for
Mit einem Lied im Herzen (1952).
Later that year she starred as Rachel Donaldson Robards Jackson in
Gefährtin seines Lebens (1953).
She was superb as Andrew Jackson's embittered wife, who dies before he
was able to take office as President of the United States. After her
fourth Academy Award nomination for
Und morgen werd' ich weinen (1955), Susan
began to wonder if she would ever take home the coveted gold statue.
She didn't have much longer to wait, though. In 1958 she gave the
performance of her lifetime as real-life California killer Barbara
Graham in Laßt mich leben (1958),
who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the gas chamber.
Susan was absolutely riveting in her portrayal of the doomed woman.
Many film buffs consider it to be one of the finest performances of all
time, and this time she was not only nominated for Best Actress, but
won. After that role she appeared in about one movie a year. In 1972
she made her last theatrical film,
Revengers (1972). She had been
diagnosed with cancer, and the disease finally claimed her life on
March 14, 1975, in Hollywood. She was 57.
