Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". She was born in Tokyo, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lucrative practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia de Havilland's recurring ailments the family moved to California in the hopes of improving their health. Mrs. de Havilland and the two girls settled in Saratoga while their father went back to his practice in Japan. Joan's parents did not get along well and divorced soon afterward. Mrs. de Havilland had a desire to be an actress but her dreams were curtailed when she married, but now she hoped to pass on her dream to Olivia and Joan. While Olivia pursued a stage career, Joan went back to Tokyo, where she attended the American School. In 1934 she came back to California, where her sister was already making a name for herself on the stage. Joan likewise joined a theater group in San Jose and then Los Angeles to try her luck there. After moving to L.A., Joan adopted the name of Joan Burfield because she didn't want to infringe upon Olivia, who was using the family surname. She tested at MGM and gained a small role in No More Ladies (1935), but she was scarcely noticed and Joan was idle for a year and a half. During this time she roomed with Olivia, who was having much more success in films. In 1937, this time calling herself Joan Fontaine, she landed a better role as Trudy Olson in You Can't Beat Love (1937) and then an uncredited part in Quality Street (1937). Although the next two years saw her in better roles, she still yearned for something better. In 1940 she garnered her first Academy Award nomination for Rebecca (1940). Although she thought she should have won, (she lost out to Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle (1940)), she was now an established member of the Hollywood set. She would again be Oscar-nominated for her role as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth in Suspicion (1941), and this time she won. Joan was making one film a year but choosing her roles well. In 1942 she starred in the well-received This Above All (1942). The following year she appeared in The Constant Nymph (1943). Once again she was nominated for the Oscar, she lost out to Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (1943). By now it was safe to say she was more famous than her older sister and more fine films followed. In 1948, she accepted second billing to Bing Crosby in The Emperor Waltz (1948). Joan took the year of 1949 off before coming back in 1950 with September Affair (1950) and Born to Be Bad (1950). In 1951 she starred in Paramount's Darling, How Could You! (1951), which turned out badly for both her and the studio and more weak productions followed. Absent from the big screen for a while, she took parts in television and dinner theaters. She also starred in many well-produced Broadway plays such as Forty Carats and The Lion in Winter. Her last appearance on the big screen was The Witches (1966) and her final appearance before the cameras was Good King Wenceslas (1994). She is, without a doubt, a lasting movie icon.
Known For
Credits
- 2017 · Becoming Cary Grant as Self (archive footage)
- 2013 · Talking Pictures as Self (archive footage)
- 2004 · Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock as Self (archive footage)
- 2000 · Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies as Self (archive footage)
- 1999 · Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
- 1994 · Good King Wenceslas as Queen Ludmilla
- 1986 · Dark Mansions as Margaret Drake
- 1986 · Crossings as Alexandra Markham
- 1985 · George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1982 · All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story as Self
- 1982 · Hotel as
- 1981 · Aloha Paradise as
- 1978 · The Users as Grace St. George
- 1977 · The Love Boat as Jennifer Langley
- 1971 · Cannon as
- 1966 · The Witches as Gwen Mayfield
- 1964 · The Bing Crosby Show as
- 1962 · The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as Alice Pemberton
- 1962 · Tender Is the Night as Baby Warren
- 1961 · Hollywood: The Selznick Years as Self (uncredited)
- 1961 · The Mike Douglas Show as Self - Co-Host
- 1961 · Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as Dr. Susan Hiller
- 1959 · One Step Beyond as Ellen Grayson
- 1958 · Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse as
- 1958 · A Certain Smile as Françoise Ferrand
- 1957 · Until They Sail as Anne Leslie
- 1957 · Island in the Sun as Mavis Norman
- 1956 · Beyond a Reasonable Doubt as Susan Spencer
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Presenter
- 1956 · Serenade as Kendall Hale
- 1955 · The 20th Century Fox Hour as
- 1954 · Casanova's Big Night as Francesca Bruni
- 1953 · The Bigamist as Eve Graham
- 1953 · Flight to Tangier as Susan Lane
- 1953 · Letter to Loretta as Self - Guest Host
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Countess Irene Forelli
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Melanie Langdon
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Laurel Chapman
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Judith
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Linda Stacey
- 1953 · Decameron Nights as Fiametta / Bartolomea / Ginevra / Isabella
- 1952 · Four Star Playhouse as Trudy
- 1952 · Ivanhoe as Rowena
- 1952 · Something to Live For as Jenny Carey
- 1951 · Othello as Page
- 1951 · Darling, How Could You! as Alice Grey
- 1950 · September Affair as Manina Stuart
- 1950 · Born to Be Bad as Christabel Caine Carey
- 1950 · What's My Line? as Self - Panelist
- 1950 · What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
- 1949 · The Art Director as Self / Jane Eyre (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1948 · Kiss the Blood Off My Hands as Jane Wharton
- 1948 · You Gotta Stay Happy as Dee Dee Dillwood
- 1948 · The Emperor Waltz as Johanna Augusta Franziska
- 1948 · Letter from an Unknown Woman as Lisa Berndle
- 1947 · Ivy as Ivy
- 1946 · From This Day Forward as Susan
- 1945 · The Affairs of Susan as Susan Darell
- 1944 · Frenchman's Creek as Dona St. Columb
- 1943 · Jane Eyre as Jane Eyre
- 1943 · The Constant Nymph as Tessa Sanger
- 1942 · Breakdowns of 1942 as Self
- 1942 · This Above All as Prudence Cathaway
- 1941 · Suspicion as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth
- 1940 · Rebecca as Mrs. de Winter
- 1939 · The Women as Peggy Day
- 1939 · A Happy Summer as Joan
- 1939 · Man of Conquest as Eliza Allen
- 1939 · Gunga Din as Emmaline "Emmy" Stebbins
- 1938 · The Duke of West Point as Ann Porter
- 1938 · Sky Giant as Meg Lawrence
- 1938 · Blond Cheat as Julie Evans
- 1938 · Maid's Night Out as Sheila Harrison
- 1937 · A Damsel in Distress as Alyce Marshmorton
- 1937 · Music for Madame as Jean Clemens
- 1937 · You Can't Beat Love as Trudy Olson
- 1937 · The Man Who Found Himself as Doris King
- 1937 · Quality Street as Charlotte Parratt
- 1936 · A Million to One as Joan Stevens
- 1935 · No More Ladies as Caroline Rumsey