
Olivia de Havilland
Biography
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 (74 movies)

Gone with the Wind
1939

Santa Fe Trail
1940

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964

The Fifth Musketeer
1979

The Adventures of Robin Hood
1938

Murder Is Easy
1982

Airport '77
1977

Princess O'Rourke
1943

The Heiress
1949

Lady in a Cage
1964

Thank Your Lucky Stars
1943

In This Our Life
1942

Anthony Adverse
1936

The Snake Pit
1948

The Charge of the Light Brigade
1936

The Dark Mirror
1946

Light in the Piazza
1962

Captain Blood
1935

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
1939

They Died with Their Boots On
1941

Four's a Crowd
1938

The Swarm
1978

Dodge City
1939

A Midsummer Night's Dream
1935

Hold Back the Dawn
1941

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983

Government Girl
1943

Devotion
1946

To Each His Own
1946

The Male Animal
1942

The Strawberry Blonde
1941

Not as a Stranger
1955

My Cousin Rachel
1952

Libel
1959

The Proud Rebel
1958

The Ambassador's Daughter
1956

The Adventurers
1970

It's Love I'm After
1937

Wings of the Navy
1939

The Adventures of Errol Flynn
2005

Out Where the Stars Begin
1938

Inside 'the Swarm'
1978

Alibi Ike
1935

The Great Garrick
1937

The Screaming Woman
1972

Call It a Day
1937

That Lady
1955

Raffles
1939

The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana
1982

The Irish in Us
1935

My Love Came Back
1940

Gold Is Where You Find It
1938

Hard to Get
1938

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995

The Woman He Loved
1988

The Well Groomed Bride
1946

Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland
2004

Noon Wine
1966

Night of 100 Stars II
1985

Pope Joan
1972

A Day at Santa Anita
1937

A Dream Comes True
1935

Breakdowns of 1944
1944

Show-Business at War
1943

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940

The Making of a Great Motion Picture
1936

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988

Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
1936

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009

Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano
1983

Stars on Horseback
1943

Breakdowns of 1942
1942

The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland
2021

The Extraordinary Seaman
1969
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|