Debra Hayward (born 15 April 1964) is a British film producer. As Head of Film at

Working Title Films Working Title Films is a British film studio that produces motion pictures and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by Tim Be ...

, Hayward frequently served as an executive producer for the company's feature films, working alongside fellow Working Title executive Liza Chasin. After producing ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'', she started her own production company, Monumental Pictures.

Life and career

Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in 1964, the daughter of John I. Hayward and his wife Annetta Lansky, Hayward joined

in 1989, working as a producer’s assistant on films that include '' Fools of Fortune'' and ''Dakota Road''. She later became a development executive for the company, and produced several films such as '' London Kills Me'' and ''

Map of the Human Heart ''Map of the Human Heart'' (also called ''Carte du Tendre'' and ''La Carte du Tendre''; released in the Philippines as ''War Dragon'') is a 1992 film by New Zealand director Vincent Ward. The script for ''Map of the Human Heart'' was written by ...

''. Hayward served as Head of Film for Working Title and was creatively responsible for the company’s entire slate of feature films in conjunction with her American counterpart, Liza Chasin. Both Hayward and Chasin have served as executive producers on films that include ''

Bridget Jones's Diary ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding. A co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it is based on Fielding's 1 ...

'', ''

Atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

'' and ''

The Boat That Rocked ''The Boat That Rocked'' (titled ''Pirate Radio'' in North America) is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis about pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of P ...

''. More recently Hayward has worked on critically acclaimed hits ''

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' is a 1974 spy novel by British author John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has receive ...

'' and '' Senna''. September 2011 saw the launch of her new production company Monumental Pictures. Hayward's first solo film as producer was ''

'', which went on to win multiple awards, raising her profile. In 2014 she started her own production house, Monumental Pictures, with fellow producer Alison Owen. On 14 October 2018, it was announced that late singer

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

's family had respectively signed a multi-million pound deal with Hayward’s film company, Monumental Pictures to make a biopic about her life, which will be directed by Alison Owen and produced by Hayward. She is married to the English screenwriter Will Osborne and has four children. He returned from California to marry Hayward, and they moved from London to Glandford,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

.Rowan Mantell
Couple’s amazing film-making odyssey brings them to Norfolk
''

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich, UK. Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the ''Eastern Counties Daily P ...

'', 31 October 2014, accessed 17 February 2021

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, Debra 1964 births Living people English film producers Golden Globe Award-winning producers British women film producers People from Liverpool