Starting her professional journey as a five-year-old singer at the Belasco Theatre in Washington, D.C., Helen Hayes maintained a career spanning 82 years. She achieved the distinction of being the first woman to win the EGOT, cementing a legacy that transformed the landscape of twentieth-century American performance across stage, television, and motion pictures.
Early Development and Stage Foundations
Born Helen Hayes Brown in 1900, her early exposure to performance included appearances at the Dominican Academy and the Academy of the Sacred Heart. By the time she reached age ten, she had transitioned into silent film with Jean and the Calico Doll. Her commitment to the theater remained the primary focus of her professional life, despite significant success in other media.
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Hayes made a transition to sound film with The Sin of Madelon Claudet, securing the Academy Award for Best Actress. Throughout the 1930s, she starred in productions such as Arrowsmith, A Farewell to Arms, and The White Sister. Her later career included an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1970 film Airport, alongside roles in Disney features like Herbie Rides Again and Candleshoe.
Institutional Influence and Philanthropy
The Helen Hayes Awards have recognized professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1984. Her philanthropic efforts included a 49-year association with the Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, New York, and the co-founding of the National Wildflower Research Center in 1982 with Lady Bird Johnson. She was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1986.
Fast facts
- Born: 1900, Washington, D.C.
- Died: 1993, Nyack
- Academy Award for Best Actress: 1932
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress: 1971
- Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient: 1986
- Total career span: 82 years
- Burial location: Oak Hill Cemetery
Questions readers ask
Did Helen Hayes win an EGOT?
Yes, she was the second person and first woman to earn an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.
What was the Helen Hayes Theatre?
The name was applied to several venues, including a Broadway theatre renamed in 1955 and later replaced by the Little Theatre in 1983.
Achievements
- National Medal of Arts
- Presidential Medal of Freedom — 1986
- National Women's Hall of Fame — 1973
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress — 1971
- Academy Award for Best Actress — 1932
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play — 1947
- Worked as film actor, autobiographer and stage actor
