Susan Hayward (born June 30, 1917, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.—died March 14, 1975, Los Angeles, California) was an American film actress who was a popular star during the 1940s and ’50s known for playing courageous women fighting to overcome adversity. Marrener grew up in a working-class family. Following her graduation from Girls’ Commercial High School, she began working as a photographer’s model . After filmmaker George Cukor saw a color photo of her in the Saturday Evening Post, she was invited to audition for the part of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939).
