Francesca Hayward
Francesca Hayward is a Kenyan-born English ballet dancer and actress, the daughter of an English father and a Kenyan mother. She is a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden in London. At the age of two, she moved to the Goring-by-Sea suburb of Worthing in West Sussex to live with her grandparents. She started ballet at age 3, after her grandparents bought her a video of The Nutcracker. When she was young, she danced at Le Serve School of Ballet and Theatre Dance in Worthing until her teacher encouraged her to audition to White Lodge, the junior section of the Royal Ballet School. After being a Junior Associate from the age of nine, she entered the School at the age of 11 in 2003, and progressed to the Royal Ballet Upper School in 2008. According to Hayward, due to an injury, she did not officially graduate, but received a certificate of attendance.
Filmography
Royal Ballet & Opera 2024/25: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
as Alice
Royal Ballet & Opera 2024/25: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
as Alice
Cygnes
Cygnes
Like Water for Chocolate
as Tita
Like Water for Chocolate
as Tita
The Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration
The Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration
The Royal Ballet: Mayerling
as Princess Stephanie
The Royal Ballet: Mayerling
as Princess Stephanie
Royal Ballet All-Star Gala
Royal Ballet All-Star Gala
Audrey
as Audrey Hepburn
Audrey
as Audrey Hepburn
Live from Covent Garden - Royal Opera House
as Dancer
Live from Covent Garden - Royal Opera House
as Dancer
The Cellist / Dances at a Gathering (The Royal Ballet)
as Dancer
The Cellist / Dances at a Gathering (The Royal Ballet)
as Dancer
Cats
as Victoria
Cats
as Victoria
Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words
as Juliet
Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words
as Juliet
Concerto / Enigma Variations / Raymonda Act III (Royal Ballet)
as Dora Penny (Dorabella)
Concerto / Enigma Variations / Raymonda Act III (Royal Ballet)
as Dora Penny (Dorabella)
The Royal Ballet: Within the Golden Hour / Medusa / Flight Pattern
as Principal Dancer (Golden Hour)
The Royal Ballet: Within the Golden Hour / Medusa / Flight Pattern
as Principal Dancer (Golden Hour)
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake
as Prince Siegfried's younger sister
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake
as Prince Siegfried's younger sister
The Sun Is God
The Sun Is God
Woolf Works
as I Now, I Then / Becomings
Woolf Works
as I Now, I Then / Becomings
Dancing the Nutcracker: Inside the Royal Ballet
as Herself, Sugar Plum Fairy
Dancing the Nutcracker: Inside the Royal Ballet
as Herself, Sugar Plum Fairy
The Nutcracker
as Clara
The Nutcracker
as Clara
Giselle
as Pas de six
Giselle
as Pas de six
The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker
as Clara
The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker
as Clara
La Fille Mal Gardée (The Royal Ballet)
as Hen
La Fille Mal Gardée (The Royal Ballet)
as Hen
The Nutcracker (The Royal Ballet)
as Clara
The Nutcracker (The Royal Ballet)
as Clara