Olivia de Havilland

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".

Acting

2009

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

Self (archive footage)

2005

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

Self - Actress (also archive footage)

1995

1988

The Woman He Loved

Aunt Bessie Merryman

1986

Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna

Dowager Empress Maria

1985

1985

1983

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

1982

Murder Is Easy

Honoria Waynflete

1979

1978

The Swarm

Maureen Schuester

1978

1977

The Love Boat

Aunt Hilly

1977

Airport '77

Emily Livingston

1973

1972

1970

The Adventurers

Deborah Hadley

1969

The Extraordinary Seaman

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

1966

ABC Stage 67

Ellie Thompson

1964

1964

Lady in a Cage

Mrs. Cornelia Hilyard

1964

1962

1962

1962

1961

1959

Libel

Lady Margaret Anne Loddon

1958

The Proud Rebel

Linnett Moore

1955

Not as a Stranger

Kristina Hedvigson / Kristina Marsh

1955

That Lady

Ana de Mendoza

1953

1952

My Cousin Rachel

Rachel Sangalletti Ashley

1950

What's My Line?

Self - Mystery Guest

1949

The Heiress

Catherine Sloper

1948

The Snake Pit

Virginia Stuart Cunningham

1948

1946

The Dark Mirror

Terry Collins / Ruth Collins

1946

Devotion

Charlotte Brontë

1946

To Each His Own

Miss Josephine 'Jody' Norris

1944

1944

Golden Globe Awards

Self - Nominee / Presenter

1944

Golden Globe Awards

Self - Presenter

1943

Princess O'Rourke

Princess Maria

1943

1943

1942

1942

In This Our Life

Roy Timberlake

1942

The Male Animal

Ellen Turner

1941

1941

1941

1940

Santa Fe Trail

Kit Carson Holliday

1940

1940

My Love Came Back

Amelia Cornell

1939

Gone with the Wind

Melanie Hamilton

1939

1939

Dodge City

Abbie Irving

1939

1938

Hard to Get

Margaret "Maggie" Richards

1938

Four's a Crowd

Lorri Dillingwell

1938

Out Where the Stars Begin

Serena Ferris (archive footage)

1938

1938

1937

The Great Garrick

Germaine de la Corbe

1937

1937

A Day at Santa Anita

Olivia de Havilland (uncredited)

1937

Call It a Day

Catherine 'Cath' Hilton

1936

1936

Anthony Adverse

Angela Guiseppe

1936

1935

A Dream Comes True

Herself (uncredited)

1935

Captain Blood

Arabella Bishop

1935

1935

The Irish in Us

Lucille Jackson

1935

Alibi Ike

Dolly Stevens

Infos

Full Name
Olivia de Havilland
Gender
Female
Date of Birth
7/1/1916
Date of Death
7/26/2020
Also Known As

Olivia Mary de Havilland

Livvie

Olivia De Havilland

Olivia DeHavilland

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