The musical movie Cats (2019) has the noticeable appearance of Francesca Hayward (the White Cat).
She is not only a ballet dancer and actor but also enlisted as one of the UK’s Most Influential People of African or African-Caribbean Heritage (Powerlist, 2021 edition).
Let’s explore the remarkable biography of this Kenyan dancer in today’s article.
Table of Contents
Who Is Francesca Hayward?
Francesca Hayward is an English-Kenyan ballet dancer and actress. She was born on July 4th, 1992, in Nairobi, Kenya, then moved to the UK to begin her ballet education at The Royal Ballet School.
Francesa quickly made progress in her dancing and filming career. She became the principal of the Royal Ballet after a few months. Nonetheless, she was also an actress in short films like Cats and Audrey.
Some repertoires of Francesca Hayward are Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), The Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Titania (The Dream), Girl (The Invitation), etc.
Plus, she performed principal roles in Within the Golden Hour, Rhapsody, Dances at a Gathering and Solo Echo, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, and Symphony in C.
This talented dancer also acted as Tita in Like Water for Chocolate); some roles in Woolf Works and Morgen, The Dante Project by Wayne McGregor, Prima by Valentino Zucchetti, Untouchable by Hofesh Shechter, and Flight Pattern by Crystal Pite.
Francesca Hayward’s Family
Francesca Hayward’s parents are of two nationalities – English (her father) and Kenyan (her mother).
Despite her hometown in Kenya, Francesca spent most of her life in her grandparent’s house in the UK.
She moved to live with her grandparents in the Goring-by-Sea suburb of Worthing, West Sussex, at the age of two.
In 2016, she moved to Stoke Newington in North London.
Francesca is a secretive person. There is little information available regarding her past relationships.
Up till now, Francesca Hayward’s boyfriend is Cesar Corrales, her fellow principal at the Royal Ballet.
In 2019, they acted lead roles in Romeo & Juliet and fell in love with each other coincidentally. They are a romantic yet lowkey dance couple in London right now.
According to an interview on Harper’s Bazaar, Francesca and Cesar will perform at the Hatch House, Wiltshire, in the summer of 2023. This couple will dance in the Étoiles of Paris Opera Ballet & Friends.
Up till now, they haven’t had a marriage plan yet.
Francesca Hayward’s Height & Weight
Francesca has an ideal ballerina body. She has a height of 5 feet 2 inches and a weight of 120 pounds.
Despite spending most of her life abroad, she still looks like a sexy Kenyan woman with Hazel eyes and black hair.
Francesca Hayward’s Net Worth
There is little public information on the annual income and salary of Francesca Hayward. As of 2023, this Cancer ballerina has an estimated net worth of $7 million.
Francesca Hayward’s Early Life and Education
Born in Kenya, Francesca spent most of her life in the UK. Here is also the country where she started her career as a professional ballet dancer.
A video of The Nutcracker unlocked Francesca’s dream of becoming a dancer. She took her first step in ballet at age 3 by joining Le Serve School of Ballet and Theather Dance in Worthing.
Then, she successfully passed the audition test for the Junior division of The Royal Ballet School.
She progressed to the Upper School. Yet, she never officially graduate due to an injury. She only received a certificate of attendance after the training program.
Francesca received many awards for her talent while studying at the Royal Ballet School, namely:
- The Lynn Seymour Award for Expressive Dance (2009);
- Young British Dancer of the Year (2010);
- The Audience Choice Award;
- Silver medal at the Genée International Ballet Competition (2010).
Check more: Alicia Alonso: Biography, Family, Accomplishments & More
Francesca Hayward’s Dancing Career
First Recognization At The Royal Ballet School
After finishing her education at The Royal Ballet School, Francesca joined this company in 2010 and started her ballet dancing career.
She has contributed a lot to the company and herself while working at the Royal Ballet School. She was cast in many prominent roles in major productions.
She was the company’s representative at the International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize (2012).
She also won the Best Emerging Artist (2014) and Best Female Dancer at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards (2016 and 2019).
At the Royal Ballet School, she was swiftly promoted to First Artist in 2013, Soloist in 2014, First Soloist in 2015, and Principal in 2016.
Started Filming
Francesca was not only a talented dance artist but also a prominent actor. She temporarily paused her work at the Royal Ballet School for rehearsing and shooting her first musical film – Cats (2019)
She acted as Victoria the White Cat in Cats (2019). This film also marked a turning point for this color dancer – she had to step out of her comfort zone to sing.
Her performance – Beautiful Ghost (written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Taylor Swift) received much critical acclaim.
After Cats, Francesca made her second chance at filming with a short dance film choreographed by Charlotte Edmonds (2019). Although she had a chlorine allergy, she successfully acted underwater sequences like professional divers.
Her years of tough ballet training trained her to cope with hardness in dancing and filming.
In 2020, she performed as “young Audrey” in Audrey – a documentary film based on the British humanitarian and actress Audrey Hepburn.
She appeared in this film with fellow ballerinas like Alessandra Ferri and Keira Moore. Her portrayal of Audrey received many positive reviews.
Back To Ballet Dancing
In May 2019, Francesca returned to the Royal Ballet alongside Cesar Corrales in Romeo and Juliet. This classical ballet was also the first performance of this dancing couple before they fell in love with each other.
She was not only a talented dancer but also a social activist.
In 2020, she performed portions of the variation The Dying Swan to raise funds for Swans for Relief, a non-profit organization by Misty Copeland.
This fund aims to relieve the loss of the COVID pandemic. This performance was the alternative to the delayed debut as Odette/Odille in Swan Lake.
Also, in her first post-lockdown ballet, Francesca performed a new piece in the Royal Opera House, choreographed by her boyfriend, Corrales, and Wayne McGregor.
This couple also performed The Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration (Royal Opera House, November 16 to 19, 2022)
In 2023, she danced at the Coronation Concert to mark the coronation of Camilla and Charles III.
Final Words
Francesca Hayward is a profound ballet dancer and actress. From her hometown in Kenya, she grew her passion for ballet while living in her grandparents’ house in the UK.
This talented color dancer was among the 15 young women on the cover of British Vogue (September 2019 issue by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex).
Although Francesca has a secret personal life, she is pretty active on social media, with over 128K followers on her Instagram. You can get the latest performance updates on her Instagram reels and images.