--- name: "Helen Hayes" canonical: "https://film.one/person/helen-hayes" roles: ["Actor"] born: "9 October 1900" died: "17 March 1993" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 75 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-19T22:00:59.302272+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Helen Hayes Actor. Born 9 October 1900 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. Died 17 March 1993. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 9 October 1900, Washington, District of Columbia, USA - **Died:** 17 March 1993 - **Active:** 1931–1932 - **Also known as:** Helen Hayes Brown, Хелен Хейс Макартур, Хелен Хейс, Helen Hayes MacArthur - **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won) - **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as actor, over 2 titles - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Hayes, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q213302, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0371040/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/47439 ## Streaming the US now - **Apple TV:** [*A Farewell to Arms*](https://film.one/film/a-farewell-to-arms.md) (80) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Arrowsmith*](https://film.one/film/arrowsmith.md) (70) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Helen Hayes > Helen Hayes was a stage actress who made films on the side, and it shows in the best possible way: no display, no plea for sympathy, a woman watching and deciding. The camera got a few years of her and never quite deserved them. There is a scene early in *Arrowsmith* (1931) in which Leora watches her husband decide the shape of both their lives, and lets him. Hayes gives it no speech. She does not look for pity and she does not look away. It moved us more than we expected, because she plays a woman who has chosen this with her eyes open and would choose it again, and she gets that across with a face that is mostly still. Ronald Colman, in the same frame, is acting. She is watching. She had been on stage since she was five and on Broadway from nine, so by the time John Ford put her in front of a camera she had been performing for a quarter of a century. Her 1920s reputation rested first on comic ingenues and then on serious parts, and not every critic was kind about the middle stretch; some found the work strained once the first success had passed. Hollywood took her in 1931. *The Sin of Madelon Claudet* was the debut, *Arrowsmith* followed the same year, and *A Farewell to Arms* (1932) put her opposite Gary Cooper as Catherine Barkley. Then she went back to the theatre for fifteen years and stayed. *Victoria Regina* (1935), in which she played the queen across decades of her life, is the part she performed close to a thousand times, and none of it was filmed. Her method was observation. She built people out of ordinary people she had watched rather than out of stage gesture, and on screen that reads as an absence of technique when it is in fact all technique. It is why Leora works. It is also, we suspect, why she never settled in Hollywood. She wanted a live audience to tell her when she was going off track and how to get back, and a camera does not do that. She said late in life that she never enjoyed herself in films, and Leora is proof that not enjoying yourself and not being good at it are different things. When she came back to film from the 1950s it was in character parts: the Dowager Empress in *Anastasia* (1956), the stowaway Ada Quonsett in *Airport* (1970). We have not reviewed them and will not judge them here, beyond noting that the later Hayes is remembered as eccentric and feisty, which is a long way from the wife who waits. She left the stage in 1971 and acting altogether in the mid-1980s. Start with *Arrowsmith*. The film is stiff and hurried and Colman is wrong for it, and she is the reason to see it anyway. If the early pictures leave you wanting to know what the fuss was about, the answer is that the work she cared for most happened in rooms without cameras, and is gone. ## Biography Helen Hayes (1900–1993) was an American actress whose career on stage, film and television spanned more than seven decades. She made her Broadway debut as a child and became a leading stage performer in the 1920s and 1930s, appearing in productions including *What Every Woman Knows* and *Victoria Regina*. Her film roles included Leora Tozer Arrowsmith in *Arrowsmith* (1931) and Catherine Barkley in *A Farewell to Arms* (1932). She won Academy Awards for *The Sin of Madelon Claudet* (1931) and *Airport* (1970), and was one of the first performers to achieve an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). Hayes received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1986 and the National Medal of Arts in 1988. *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, pbs.org.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *A Farewell to Arms* (1932), Fi1m 80, as Catherine Barkley — [page](https://film.one/film/a-farewell-to-arms.md) - *Arrowsmith* (1931), Fi1m 70, as Leora Tozer Arrowsmith — [page](https://film.one/film/arrowsmith.md) ## Complete filmography (50) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Airports* (2025), Actor - *Divine Mercy No Escape* (1994), Actor - *MGM: When the Lion Roars* (1992), series, Actor - *Murder with Mirrors* (1985), as Miss Jane Marple - *Highway to Heaven* (1984), series, Actor - *A Caribbean Mystery* (1983), as Miss Jane Marple - *Murder Is Easy* (1982), as Lavinia Fullerton - *A Family Upside Down* (1978), as Emma Long - *Candleshoe* (1977), as Lady St. Edmund - *The Love Boat* (1977), series, as Agatha Winslow - *Victory at Entebbe* (1976), as Etta Grossman-Wise - *Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers* (1976), series, as Dr. McCartney - *One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing* (1975), as Hettie - *Herbie Rides Again* (1974), as Mrs. Steinmetz - *The Snoop Sisters* (1973), series, as Ernesta Snoop - *The Female Instinct* (1972), as Ernesta Snoop - *Ghost Story* (1972), series, as Miss Gilden - *Harvey* (1972), as Veta Louise Simmons - *Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate* (1971), as Sophie Tate Curtis - *Airport* (1970), as Ada Quonsett - *Hawaii Five-O* (1969), series, as Aunt Clara - *Arsenic and Old Lace* (1969), as Abby Brewster - *Here's Lucy* (1968), series, as Kathleen Brady - *Tarzan* (1966), series, Actor - *The Challenge of Ideas* (1961), as Narrator - *The Dow Hour of Great Mysteries* (1960), series, as Cornelia Van Gorder - *The Bat* (1960), as Cornelia Van Gorder - *Third Man on the Mountain* (1959), as Hotel guest (uncredited) - *Play of the Week* (1959), series, as Mother Hildebrand - *Four Women in Black* (1957), as Sister Theresa - *Anastasia* (1956), as Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna - *My Son John* (1952), as Lucille Jefferson - *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Essie, The Vicaress, Veta Louise Simmons - *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, as Honora Canderay (woman) - *The Jack Benny Program* (1950), series, as Helen Hayes - *Robert Montgomery Presents* (1950), series, as Queen Victoria - *Stage Door Canteen* (1943), as Helen Hayes - *Vanessa: Her Love Story* (1935), as Vanessa Paris - *What Every Woman Knows* (1934), as Maggie Wylie - *Crime Without Passion* (1934), as Woman in Hotel Lobby (uncredited) - *Night Flight* (1933), as Madame Fabian - *Another Language* (1933), as Stella Hallam - *The White Sister* (1933), as Angela Chiaromonte - *The Son-Daughter* (1932), as Lian Wha - *A Farewell to Arms* (1932), as Catherine Barkley — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/a-farewell-to-arms.md) - *Arrowsmith* (1931), as Leora Tozer Arrowsmith — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/arrowsmith.md) - *The Sin of Madelon Claudet* (1931), as Madelon Claudet - *The Dancing Town* (1928), as Olive Pepperall - *Riders of the Range* (1923), as Inez - *The Weavers of Life* (1917), as Peggy ## Gallery - ![Helen Hayes](https://film.one/media/person/1225374/gallery-538c15af82d0.jpg) Helen Hayes — Toronto Star, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Helen_Hayes_1948.jpg/1280px-Helen_Hayes_1948.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Helen Hayes, stage actress Subjects: actresses (1917)](https://film.one/media/person/1225374/gallery-41b3b2f49183.jpg) Helen Hayes, stage actress Subjects: actresses (1917) — Studio of Luther S. White, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Helen_Hayes%2C_stage_actress_%28SAYRE_3815%29.jpg/1280px-Helen_Hayes%2C_stage_actress_%28SAYRE_3815%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Writer Charles MacArthur and his wife actress Helen Hayes (1929)](https://film.one/media/person/1225374/gallery-a23c90f08728.jpg) Writer Charles MacArthur and his wife actress Helen Hayes (1929) — Edward Steichen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Charles_MacArthur_and_Helen_Hayes_-_Steichen.jpg/1280px-Charles_MacArthur_and_Helen_Hayes_-_Steichen.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Title: Hayes & Blackman Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. (1925)](https://film.one/media/person/1225374/gallery-afb67d9631f8.jpg) Title: Hayes & Blackman Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. (1925) — Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Hayes_%26_Blackman_LCCN2014717992.jpg/1280px-Hayes_%26_Blackman_LCCN2014717992.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Helen Hayes](https://film.one/media/person/1225374/gallery-f170312ccca8.jpg) Helen Hayes — Image via TMDB - ![Helen Hayes](https://film.one/media/person/1225374/gallery-c4e4379c83b9.jpg) Helen Hayes — Image via TMDB - ![Helen Hayes](https://film.one/media/person/1225374/gallery-10941b85a6e0.jpg) Helen Hayes — Image via TMDB - ![Title: Hayes & Blackman Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. (1900)](https://film.one/media/person/1225374/gallery-b3a1f8ff9f42.jpg) Title: Hayes & Blackman Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. (1900) — Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Hayes_%26_Blackman_LCCN2014718001.jpg/1280px-Hayes_%26_Blackman_LCCN2014718001.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - !['Bab' (1920) Act III with Arthur Eldred (Clinton Beresford) and Helen Hayes (Bab)](https://film.one/media/person/1225374/gallery-2e06e164cea9.jpg) 'Bab' (1920) Act III with Arthur Eldred (Clinton Beresford) and Helen Hayes (Bab) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/%27Bab%27_%281920%29_Act_III.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 2 won - 1971: Best Supporting Actress (won), for *Airport* - 1932: Best Actress (won), for *The Sin of Madelon Claudet* ### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won - 1953: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (won) ### Other awards — 7 won, 1 nominated - Presidential Medal of Freedom 1986: Presidential Medal of Freedom (won) - Laetare Medal 1979: Laetare Medal (won) - Ladies' Home Journal Women of the Year 1973: Ladies' Home Journal Women of the Year (won) - National Women's Hall of Fame 1973: National Women's Hall of Fame (won) - Golden Plate Award 1970: Golden Plate Award (won) - Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 1970: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (nominated) - Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 1958: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (won) - Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 1947: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/helen-hayes