1. Brooke Hayward is a great-granddaughter of Monroe Hayward, former US 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.
When Brooke Hayward was seven years old, the family moved to a farm in Brookfield, Connecticut.
Brooke Hayward's mother married importer and producer Kenneth Wagg in 1950.
Brooke Hayward attended Vassar College and studied acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.
In May 1961, Brooke Hayward made her Broadway debut in the stage production of Mandingo opposite her future husband Dennis Hopper.
Brooke Hayward made her film debut that same year in Burt Balaban's Mad Dog Coll.
Brooke Hayward delivered a memorable performance in the Twilight Zone episode "The Masks" in March 1964.
Brooke Hayward was an avid collector of antiques from various periods and known for a highly idiosyncratic sense of design, as demonstrated by the house she shared with Hopper and their children, 1712 North Crescent Heights Boulevard in Los Angeles.
In 1977, Brooke Hayward wrote the best-seller Haywire, a childhood memoir that expounded on her family, the mental breakdowns of her mother and sister, and her own personal demons.
Brooke Hayward met actor Dennis Hopper when they were both cast in Mandingo on Broadway in the spring of 1961.
Brooke Hayward married Peter Duchin, the musician and orchestra leader, in 1985.