About Brooke Hayward

Brooke Hayward (born July 5, 1937) is an American actress and model. Her memoir, Haywire was a best-seller.

Born in Los Angeles, Hayward is the eldest of three children born to agent turned film, television, and stage producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan. Brooke Hayward is a great-granddaughter of Monroe Hayward, former U.S. Senator-elect from Nebraska, and the granddaughter of Colonel William 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. She is also a descendant of Mayflower passenger William White, and pilgrim Robert Coe. Hayward had a younger sister, Bridget, who died of a drug overdose, and a brother, producer William Hayward III, known as "Bill Hayward", who committed suicide.