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".
Filmography · 99
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · Self
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · Self
The Love Boat
1977 · Aunt Hilly
Golden Globe Awards
1944 · Self - Nominee / Prese...
The Merv Griffin Show
1962 · Self
The Oscars
1953 · Self
What's My Line?
1950 · Self
People's Choice Awards
1975 · Self
North and South
1985 · Mrs. Neal
Gone with the Wind
1939 · Melanie Hamilton
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · Self
The Hollywood Palace
1964 · Self
ABC Stage 67
1966 · Ellie Thompson
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973 · Self
Roots: The Next Generations
1979 · Mrs. Warner
The Adventures of Robin Hood
1938 · Maid Marian
Reflets de Cannes
1954 · Self
Airport '77
1977 · Emily Livingston
The Swarm
1978 · Maureen
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964 · Miriam Deering
Captain Blood
1935 · Arabella Bishop
The Heiress
1949 · Catherine Sloper
Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna
1986 · Dowager Empress Maria
The Fifth Musketeer
1979 · Anne d'Autriche
Show-Business at War
1943 · Self
Santa Fe Trail
1940 · Kit Carson Holliday
The Proud Rebel
1958 · Linnett Moore
Gold Is Where You Find It
1938 · Serena Ferris
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
1939 · Lady Penelope Gray
They Died with Their Boots On
1941 · Elizabeth Bacon
Night of 100 Stars II
1985 · Self
Dodge City
1939 · Abbie Irving
The Fabulous Allan Carr
2017 · Self (archive)
In This Our Life
1942 · Roy Timberlake
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995 · Self
The Strawberry Blonde
1941 · Amy Lind
Government Girl
1943 · Elizabeth 'Smokey' All...
My Cousin Rachel
1952 · Rachel Ashley
Murder Is Easy
1982 · Honoria Waynflete
Not as a Stranger
1955 · Kristina Hedvigson / K...
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1935 · Hermia
The Dark Mirror
1946 · Terry Collins / Ruth C...
The Adventurers
1970 · Deborah Hadley
Devotion
1946 · Charlotte Brontë
The Snake Pit
1948 · Virginia Cunningham
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988 · Self - Cast Member in...
Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano
1983 · Self
The Charge of the Light Brigade
1936 · Elsa Campbell
Hold Back the Dawn
1941 · Emmy Brown
Anthony Adverse
1936 · Angela Guiseppe
Pope Joan
1972 · Mother Superior
Breakdowns of 1942
1942 · Self
Light in the Piazza
1962 · Meg Johnson
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983 · Self (archive footage)...
The Woman He Loved
1988 · Aunt Bessie Merryman
Lady in a Cage
1964 · Mrs. Cornelia Hilyard
My Love Came Back
1940 · Amelia Cornell
To Each His Own
1946 · Miss Josephine 'Jody'...
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009 · Self (archive footage)
The Male Animal
1942 · Ellen Turner
The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland
2021 · Self - Actress
Breakdowns of 1944
1944 · Self
Thank Your Lucky Stars
1943 · Self
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940 · Self
British Pathé Newsreels: Gone with the Wind
1939 · Self (archive footage)
Four's a Crowd
1938 · Lorri Dillingwell
Libel
1959 · Lady Margaret Anne Lod...
It's Love I'm After
1937 · Marcia West
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
2005 · Self - Actress (also a...
The Extraordinary Seaman
1969 · Self (archive footage)...
Princess O'Rourke
1943 · Princess Maria
Jacques Tati, tombé de la lune
2021
The Irish in Us
1935 · Lucille Jackson
Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn
2015 · Self (archive footage)
That Lady
1955 · Ana de Mendoza
Errol Flynn: Portrait of a Swashbuckler
1983 · Self
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
2001 · Self (Archive footage)
The Screaming Woman
1972 · Laura Wynant
Noon Wine
1966 · Ellie Thompson
The Great Garrick
1937 · Germaine de la Corbe
A Dream Comes True
1935 · Herself (uncredited)
The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana
1982 · Queen Elizabeth, The Q...
Gone with the Wind – Makeup and Wardrobe Tests
2020 · Self (archive footage)
Wings of the Navy
1939 · Irene Dale
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
2006 · Self (archive footage)
Call It a Day
1937 · Catherine 'Cath' Hilto...
A Day at Santa Anita
1937 · Olivia de Havilland (u...
The Ambassador's Daughter
1956 · Joan Fisk
The Well Groomed Bride
1946 · Margie Dawson
Raffles
1939 · Gwen
Destins secrets d’étoiles - Grace, Jackie, Liz, Marilyn…
2015
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
1936 · Self
Hard to Get
1938 · Margaret "Maggie" Rich...
Inside 'the Swarm'
1978 · Self
The Making of a Great Motion Picture
1936
Alibi Ike
1935 · Dolly Stevens
Stars on Horseback
1943
Out Where the Stars Begin
1938 · Serena Ferris (archive...
Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland
2004 · Herself