Sarah Hay (born September 16, 1987) is an American actress and

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

. She is best known for her role as Claire Robbins in the Starz mini-series ''

Flesh and Bone Flesh and Bone may refer to: * ''Flesh and Bone'' (film), a 1993 film starring Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid and James Caan * ''Flesh and Bone'' (miniseries), a 2015 American television series on Starz * "Flesh and Bone" (Battlestar Galactica), an epis ...

'', she was nominated for a Golden Globe, a

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

and a

Critics' Choice Television Award The Critics' Choice Television Awards are accolades that are presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fourt ...

Early life

Sarah Hay was brought up in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

and New York City, alongside her older brother and sister. Her grandmother was an art dealer in New York City, and her grandfather is a member of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. Hay's parents are both psychologists. Her godmother is magician’s assistant

Debbie McGee Debra Ann McGee (born 31 October 1958) is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the assistant and widow of magician Paul Daniels. McGee is a former ballet dancer and for three years was artistic director of her ...

. She began attending dance classes at the age of three and later attended the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet at the American Ballet Theatre. She later explained that while she was popular at normal school, at the ballet school she was considered to be a "loser" because she wasn't from a wealthy background. She described herself as a "troublemaker" during her childhood, and only decided to pursue ballet professionally when she was a teenager.

Career

Ballet

As a child Hay was enrolled at School of American Ballet. During her early dancing career, she discovered that certain teachers found her body type off-putting, with one handing her a

sports bra A sports bra is a bra that provides support to the breasts during physical exercise. Sturdier than typical bras, they minimize breast movement and alleviate discomfort. Many women wear sports bras to reduce pain and physical discomfort caused ...

as she came off stage in the middle of a production, while others suggested that she should undergo

breast reduction Reduction mammoplasty (also breast reduction and reduction mammaplasty) is the plastic surgery procedure for reducing the size of large breasts. In a breast reduction surgery for re-establishing a functional bust that is proportionate to the woma ...

surgery. She added that she was always considered to be the "heavy girl" in American-based companies. Once she decided to become a professional ballet dancer, she sacrificed other pursuits, saying in a 2015 interview with the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' that she "had a few relationships fall apart because of it." While others have described her as "workaholic," she prefers "motivated." At the age of 22, she moved to Germany to join the

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

based

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

ballet.Former Pennsylvania Ballet dancer gets TV break as star of 'Flesh and Bone'
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Acting

Hay made her acting debut in 1997 when she was cast as Stephanie in ''You're Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley's Ballet Party'', starring

Mary-Kate Olsen Mary-Kate Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, equestrian, and former actress. She began her acting career nine months after her birth, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner with her twin sister Ashley Olsen ...

and

Ashley Olsen Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American businesswoman and former actress. She began her acting career at the age of nine months, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner with her twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen in the television sitco ...

. She made her film debut in 2010 as a dancer in '' Black Swan'', but she didn't consider herself to have made an acting appearance until she was cast in the Starz mini-series ''

''. Executive producer

Moira Walley-Beckett Moira Walley-Beckett is a Canadian television actress, producer, and writer. She was a writer and producer for the AMC drama ''Breaking Bad'' and the creator of two television series, '' Flesh and Bone'' and '' Anne with an E'' (titled ''Anne'' ...

and her team had seen more than a thousand ballet dancers for the main role of Claire Robbins, and the choreographer for the series, Ethan Stiefel, had begun requesting ballet footage via email from more dancers. After returning footage, Hay was invited to New York for an audition and was given the part an hour later.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Sarah Hay
on Instagram
Sarah Hay
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Sarah Hay
on Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Sarah 1987 births 21st-century American actresses People from Princeton, New Jersey Living people American dancers American ballerinas School of American Ballet alumni