Winner of the Miss District of Columbia title, she represented the District of Columbia in the 1949 Miss America pageant. Although she did not win the pageant, she got a chance to work in local television before moving to Hollywood in 1954 to work for Universal Pictures. In 1958, Hayes become a B-movie icon when she starred in "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman", where she was transformed into a giant woman due to an alien encounter This film has become a cult favorite.