Olivia de Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland DBE (July 1, 1916 - July 25, 2020) was a British-American actress, whose career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films, and was one of the leading movie stars during the golden age of Classical Hollywood. She is best known for her early screen performances in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Gone with the Wind (1939), and her later award-winning performances in To Each His Own (1946), The Snake Pit (1948), and The Heiress (1949). Born in Tokyo to British parents, de Havilland and her younger sister, actress Joan Fontaine, moved with their mother to California in 1919. They were brought up by their mother Lilian, a former stage actress who taught them drama, music, and elocution. Olivia de Havilland made her screen debut in Reinhardt's A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1935. During her career, she often played demure ingénues opposite popular leading men, including Errol Flynn, with whom she made nine films. They became one of Hollywood's most popular romantic on-screen pairings. She achieved her initial popularity in romantic comedy films, such as The Great Garrick (1937), and in Westerns, such as Dodge City (1939). Her natural beauty and refined acting style made her particularly effective in historical period dramas, such as Anthony Adverse (1936), and romantic dramas, such as Hold Back the Dawn (1941). In her later career, she was most successful in dramas, such as Light in the Piazza (1962), and unglamorous roles in psychological dramas including Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964). In addition to her film career, de Havilland continued her work in the theatre, appearing three times on Broadway. She also worked in television, appearing in the successful miniseries, Roots: The Next Generations (1979), and television feature films, such as Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. During her film career, de Havilland won two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress, and the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup. For her contributions to the motion picture industry, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For her lifetime contribution to the arts, she received the National Medal of Arts from President George W. Bush, and was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. De Havilland and Joan Fontaine are the only siblings to have won Academy Awards in a lead acting category. A lifelong rivalry between the two actresses resulted in an estrangement that lasted over three decades. De Havilland lived in Paris since 1956, and celebrated her 100th birthday on July 1, 2016. In June 2017, two weeks before her 101st birthday, de Havilland was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to drama. She was the oldest woman ever to receive the honour. In a statement, she called it "the most gratifying of birthday presents".
Known For
Credits
- 2021 · The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland as Self - Actress
- 2009 · 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year as Self (archive footage)
- 2005 · The Adventures of Errol Flynn as Self - Actress (also archive footage)
- 2004 · Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland as Herself
- 1995 · The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies as Self
- 1990 · Star Life as Self (archive footage)
- 1988 · The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind as Self - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
- 1988 · The Woman He Loved as Aunt Bessie Merryman
- 1986 · Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna as Dowager Empress Maria
- 1985 · North and South as Mrs. Neal
- 1985 · Night of 100 Stars II as Self
- 1983 · Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano as Self
- 1983 · Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1983 · Errol Flynn: Portrait of a Swashbuckler as Self
- 1982 · The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana as Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother
- 1982 · Murder Is Easy as Honoria Waynflete
- 1979 · The Fifth Musketeer as Anne d'Autriche
- 1979 · Roots: The Next Generations as Mrs. Warner
- 1978 · The Swarm as Maureen Schuester
- 1978 · Inside 'the Swarm' as Self
- 1977 · The Love Boat as Aunt Hilly
- 1977 · Airport '77 as Emily Livingston
- 1973 · The American Film Institute Salute to ... as Self
- 1972 · Pope Joan as Mother Superior
- 1972 · The Screaming Woman as Laura Wynant
- 1970 · The Adventurers as Deborah Hadley
- 1966 · Noon Wine as Ellie Thompson
- 1966 · ABC Stage 67 as Ellie Thompson
- 1964 · Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte as Miriam Deering
- 1964 · Lady in a Cage as Mrs. Cornelia Hilyard
- 1964 · The Hollywood Palace as Self
- 1962 · The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- 1962 · The Merv Griffin Show as Self
- 1962 · Light in the Piazza as Meg Johnson
- 1961 · The Mike Douglas Show as Self
- 1959 · Libel as Lady Margaret Anne Loddon
- 1958 · The Proud Rebel as Linnett Moore
- 1956 · The Ambassador's Daughter as Joan Fisk
- 1955 · Not as a Stranger as Kristina Hedvigson / Kristina Marsh
- 1955 · That Lady as Ana de Mendoza
- 1954 · Reflets de Cannes as Self
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1952 · My Cousin Rachel as Rachel Sangalletti Ashley
- 1950 · What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
- 1949 · The Heiress as Catherine Sloper
- 1948 · The Snake Pit as Virginia Stuart Cunningham
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Self (archive footage)
- 1946 · The Dark Mirror as Terry / Ruth Collins
- 1946 · Night as Gloria
- 1946 · The Well Groomed Bride as Margie Dawson
- 1946 · Devotion as Charlotte Brontë
- 1946 · To Each His Own as Miss Josephine 'Jody' Norris
- 1944 · Breakdowns of 1944 as Self
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Winner/Presenter
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter
- 1943 · Government Girl as Elizabeth 'Smokey' Allard
- 1943 · Princess O'Rourke as Princess Maria
- 1943 · Thank Your Lucky Stars as Self
- 1943 · Show-Business at War as Self
- 1943 · Stars on Horseback as
- 1942 · Breakdowns of 1942 as Self
- 1942 · In This Our Life as Roy Timberlake
- 1942 · The Male Animal as Ellen Turner
- 1941 · They Died with Their Boots On as Elizabeth Bacon
- 1941 · Hold Back the Dawn as Emmy Brown
- 1941 · The Strawberry Blonde as Amy Lind
- 1940 · Santa Fe Trail as Kit Carson Holliday
- 1940 · Cavalcade of the Academy Awards as Self
- 1940 · My Love Came Back as Amelia Cornell
- 1939 · The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex as Lady Penelope Gray
- 1939 · Raffles as Gwen
- 1939 · Dodge City as Abbie Irving
- 1939 · Gone with the Wind as Melanie Hamilton
- 1939 · Wings of the Navy as Irene Dale
- 1938 · Hard to Get as Margaret "Maggie" Richards
- 1938 · Four's a Crowd as Lorri Dillingwell
- 1938 · Out Where the Stars Begin as Serena Ferris (archive footage)
- 1938 · The Adventures of Robin Hood as Maid Marian
- 1938 · Gold Is Where You Find It as Serena Ferris
- 1937 · The Great Garrick as Germaine de la Corbe
- 1937 · It's Love I'm After as Marcia West
- 1937 · A Day at Santa Anita as Olivia de Havilland (uncredited)
- 1937 · Call It a Day as Catherine 'Cath' Hilton
- 1936 · The Charge of the Light Brigade as Elsa Campbell
- 1936 · Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) as Self
- 1936 · Anthony Adverse as Angela Guiseppe
- 1936 · The Making of a Great Motion Picture as
- 1935 · A Dream Comes True as Herself (uncredited)
- 1935 · Captain Blood as Arabella Bishop
- 1935 · A Midsummer Night's Dream as Hermia
- 1935 · The Irish in Us as Lucille Jackson
- 1935 · Alibi Ike as Dolly Stevens