Helen Hayes

Helen Hayes (born Helen Hayes Brown on October 10, 1900 in Washington, D.C., United States) was hailed as the "First Lady of American Theatre" and became the second person – and first woman – to achieve the coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). Her career, which stretched from a five‑year‑old debut singing at Washington’s Belasco Theatre to a final Broadway appearance in a 1970 revival of Harvey, spanned 82 years and encompassed more than 150 stage productions, dozens of films, and numerous television performances. Hayes won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) and later added a supporting‑actress Oscar for Airport (1970); she collected a Tony for Happy Birthday (1948), an Emmy for her 1972 television special Helen Hayes: The First Lady of the Theatre, and a Grammy for a spoken‑word album of A Gift of Joy. In recognition of her cultural impact she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1986) and the National Medal of Arts (1988), and her name adorns the prestigious Helen Hayes Awards, which honor theatrical excellence in the Washington, D.C., region.

Beyond the footlights, Hayes was a dedicated philanthropist. Her 49‑year affiliation with the Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, New York, began in the 1940s and culminated in the institution being renamed for her in 1974; she served on its Board of Visitors until her death. She co‑founded the National Wildflower Research Center (now the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center) and was an active supporter of the Riverside Shakespeare Company and the Girl Scouts. Hayes authored three memoirs—A Gift of Joy, On Reflection, and My Life in Three Acts—and remained a vibrant public figure well into her nineties, delivering speeches at Republican National Conventions and championing arts education. She passed away on March 17, 1993 in Nyack, New York, leaving behind a lasting legacy as one of the most celebrated and versatile performers in American entertainment history.