Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1959
Susan Hayward I Want to Live 1959
SEX WORKER ROLE
Wins Oscar For Playing A Prostitute
Susan Hayward in I Want to Live 1959
OTHER SEX WORKER ROLES
June Goffe in Deadline at Dawn 1946
Ada Gillis in Ada 1961
First Character Is A Taxi Dancer. The Second Character Is A Prostitute.
Susan Hayward in Deadline at Dawn 1946 and Ada 1961
“Deadline at Dawn” is an underrated film noir that is a gem. Susan Hayward’s role as the female lead is the sole reason for this movie’s notoriety. This film would be sitting in a vault if it weren’t for her. Hayward plays a taxi dancer (women whom men hire to dance with them). She meets with a sailor who is on leave. It leads to events that propel her to help him in return for a large amount of money before dawn, hence the title.
Watch clip of the film “Deadline at Dawn”
Susan Hayward won an Oscar for playing the real-life prostitute Barbara Graham. The press nicknamed her Bloody Babs and sentenced her to death for the murder of Mabel Monohan.
Watch clip of the film “I Want To Live!”
Two years after her Oscar win, Susan played another hooker—the protagonist in the movie “Ada,” based on the book “Ada Dallas” by Wirt Williams. She begins as a prostitute who later marries a politician. Soon afterward, she winds up becoming the acting governor of the state! Despite the character’s background as a prostitute, this role is significant.. You can see why Susan wanted to play this character.
Watch trailer of the film “Ada”
To read more about other Oscar-winning actresses playing characters working in the sex trade industry, please continue perusing Oscar Hookers