Linda Hayden (born Linda M. Higginson on 19 January 1953 in Stanmore, England) is a British film and television actress, best known for her horror and sex comedy roles.
Film Roles
- Baby Love as Luci Thompson
- Taste the Blood of Dracula as Alice Hargood
- The Blood on Satan's Claw as Angel Blake
- Something to Hide as Lorelei
- Night Watch as Girl in Car
- Vampira as Helga
- Madhouse (1974) as Elizabeth Peters
- Confessions of a... Series
- Confessions of a Window Cleaner as Elizabeth Radlett
- Confessions from a Holiday Camp as Brigitte
- Exposé as Linda Hindstatt
- Queen Kong as Singing Nun
- The Boys from Brazil as Nancy
- Stalker as Ms. Brown
- Run for Your Wife (cameo)
Television Roles
- Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em as Linda
- Robin's Nest as Jan / Millie Winters
- The Professionals as Gerda Helm
- Shillingbury Tales as Mandy Smith
- Hart to Hart as Ute
- Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense as Ellen Jarvis
- The Bill as Wendy Pierce
This actress provides examples of the following:
- Creator Backlash: In a behind-the-scenes feature included on the DVD of The Blood on Satan's Claw, Hayden stated that Exposé was the only film she regretted appearing in, saying it was not the film she had made originally.
- Creator Couple: Appeared alongside her then-boyfriend Robin Askwith in four films during the 1970s.
- The Danza: On several occasions, she'd play characters who shared her given name.
- Ms. Fanservice: She was a very beautiful woman, and often got naked on screen during her heyday. Even now, she still looks pretty good for her age.
- Star-Making Role: Baby Love first put her on the map, but it was The Blood on Satan's Claw that truly propelled her into cult stardom.
- Typecasting: Sadly, despite having proven herself a capable performer on several occasions, most of her film roles ended up being in sexploitation films. Fortunately, this trope was averted by her television roles, where she got the chance to show off her true range as an actress.
- What Might Have Been: In the early 1970s, she was supposed to have the lead in a film adaptation of The Blue Lagoon that was going to be produced by Ray Stark for Columbia Pictures. Due to production delays, the project did not begin until the fall of 1978, and by that time, Hayden was considered "too old" for the role. The finished movie would eventually star Brooke Shields and was only released in 1980.
