This biography of one of Hollywood's leading ladies of the 1940s and 1950s, covers her childhood, school years, early modeling career, development as an actress, and her break into the movie business. It also documents her personal life during her career, including her marriages and attempted suicide, her appearance on the arm of Charlton Heston at the 1974 Academy Awards, and her illness and death the following year at the age of 56. It also provides an analysis of each of her fifty-some feature films with comments from contemporary reviewers, and places Hayward and her films in the context of Hollywood and motion picture history. The filmography gives cast and production credits for both motion pictures and television movies.