Brooke Hayward
Hayward in 1961
Born	1937 (age 87–88)[1] Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Other names	Brooke Hayward Duchin
Alma mater	Vassar College
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1961–1993
Spouses	Michael M. Thomas ​ ​ (m. 1956; div. 1960)​ Dennis Hopper ​ ​ (m. 1961; div. 1969)​ Peter Duchin ​ ​ (m. 1985; div. 2011)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Leland Hayward Margaret Sullavan
Relatives	William Hayward Monroe Hayward Descendants of Robert Coe

Brooke Hayward is an American actress. Her memoir,Haywire, was a best-seller.^[2]

Born in Los Angeles in 1937, Hayward is the eldest of three children born to agent turned film, television, and stage producerLeland Hayward and actressMargaret Sullavan. Brooke Hayward is a great-granddaughter ofMonroe Hayward, former U.S. Senator-elect from Nebraska, and the granddaughter of ColonelWilliam Hayward, who led the United States'369th Infantry Regiment, aka the "Harlem Hellfighters", the first regiment composed entirely of African-American soldiers during the First World War.^[3] She is also a descendant ofMayflower passenger William White, andPuritan colonistRobert Coe.^[4] Hayward had a younger sister, Bridget, who died of a drug overdose, and a brother, producer William Hayward III, known as "Bill Hayward", who died by suicide.^[5]

When Hayward was seven years old, the family moved to a farm inBrookfield, Connecticut.^[6] Hayward's parents divorced in April 1948.^[7] The following year, Hayward's father marriedNancy "Slim" Hawks (later known as Slim Keith).^[8] After his divorce from Slim Hawks, Leland Hayward marriedPamela Harriman.^[9] Her mother married importer and producerKenneth Wagg in 1950.^[5] Margaret Sullavan died of an accidental drug overdose on January 1, 1960.^[10][11] Nine months later, on October 17, 1960, Hayward's younger sister Bridget was found dead of a drug overdose in her apartment in New York City. Bridget left what was described as an "incoherent note", the contents of which never were made public.^[12] Her death was ruled a suicide.^[13] Hayward's brother Bill died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 9, 2008.^[14]

Hayward attendedVassar College and studied acting withLee Strasberg at theActors Studio.^[15]

As a model, Hayward appeared on the August 15, 1959, cover ofVogue, shot byHorst P. Horst.^[16]

In May 1961, Hayward made her Broadway debut in the stage production ofMandingo opposite her future husbandDennis Hopper. She made her film debut that same year inBurt Balaban'sMad Dog Coll.^[17] In one early episode ofBonanza ("The Storm", 1962), she played sea-ship captain's daughter Laura White.^[17] She delivered a memorable performance in theTwilight Zone episode "The Masks" in March 1964.^[17] Over the next 30 years, Hayward appeared in a handful of screen roles.

Throughout the 1960s, while married to actor, director, and photographer Dennis Hopper, Hayward took an active role in the contemporary art world, collecting works by such artists asAndy Warhol,Ed Ruscha,Frank Stella, andRoy Lichtenstein. She was also an avid collector of antiques from various periods and known for a highly idiosyncratic sense of design, as demonstrated by the house she shared with Hopper and their children, 1712 North Crescent Heights Boulevard in Los Angeles.^[18]

In 1977, Hayward wrote the best-seller^[2]Haywire, a childhood memoir that expounded on her family, the mental breakdowns of her mother and sister, and her own personal demons.^[19] Her last screen appearance was in a small role inJohn Guare's 1993 film adaptation ofSix Degrees of Separation, withStockard Channing,Donald Sutherland, andWill Smith.

Hayward was married toMichael M. Thomas from July 1956 until their July 1960 divorce. They had two sons.^[20]

Hayward met actorDennis Hopper when they were both cast inMandingo on Broadway in the spring of 1961. They were married in August 1961. They had a daughter, designerMarin Brooke Hopper, in June 1962 and together went on to be a force at the center of the creative scene in Los Angeles in the 1960s, collecting Pop art and enjoying a high degree of access to the worlds of contemporary art, rock music, and Hollywood. They separated in 1968 and divorced in 1969.^[21] The story of Hayward and Hopper's marriage, along with their childhoods and later lives, was told byMark Rozzo in the best-selling 2022 cultural history/biographyEverybody Thought We Were Crazy.^[22]

Hayward marriedPeter Duchin, the musician and orchestra leader, in 1985.^[23] They divorced in 2008.^[18]

Hayward wasJane Fonda's best friend growing up.^[18] Fonda stated in 2017: "Unfortunately, we are no longer friends which makes me sad."^[24]

• Hayward, Brooke (1977).Haywire.New York City:Alfred A. Knopf (published February 1977).ISBN 9780394493251.OCLC 2425290.

• Brooke Hayward at theInternet Broadway Database
• Brooke Hayward atIMDb
• Brooke Hayward papers, 1911–1977, Billy Rose Theatre Division,New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
• Hayward Family Tree -Hayward Luxury

• 20th-century American actresses
• Actors Studio alumni
• Actresses from Connecticut
• Actresses from Los Angeles
• American film actresses
• American memoirists
• American stage actresses
• American television actresses
• Living people
• People from Litchfield County, Connecticut
• Vassar College alumni
• American women memoirists
• 21st-century American women

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