Helen Hayes Brown was born in Washington, D.C., on October 10, 1900. Her mother, Catherine Estelle "Essie" (née Hayes), was an aspiring actress who worked in touring companies. Her father, Francis va… See more

Hayes began a stage career as a five-year-old singer at Washington's Belasco Theatre, on Lafayette Square, across from the White House. By age 10, she had made a short film, Jean and the Calico Doll (1910).
Her sound f… See more

Hayes was a Catholic and a Republican who attended many Republican National Conventions (including the one held in New Orleans in 1988), but she was not as politically vocal as several other Republican… See more