Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
July 1, 1916
Place of Birth:
Tokyo, Japan
Social Media
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".
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland | Self - Actress |
| 2009 | 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year | Self (archive footage) |
| 2005 | The Adventures of Errol Flynn | Self - Actress (also archive footage) |
| 2004 | Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland | Herself |
| 1995 | The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies | Self |
| 1988 | The Woman He Loved | Aunt Bessie Merryman |
| 1988 | The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind | Self - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage) |
| 1985 | Night of 100 Stars II | Self |
| 1983 | Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1983 | Errol Flynn: Portrait of a Swashbuckler | Self |
| 1983 | Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano | Self |
| 1982 | Murder Is Easy | Honoria Waynflete |
| 1982 | The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana | Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother |
| 1979 | The Fifth Musketeer | Anne d'Autriche |
| 1978 | The Swarm | Maureen Schuester |
| 1978 | Inside 'the Swarm' | Self |
| 1977 | Airport '77 | Emily Livingston |
| 1972 | The Screaming Woman | Laura Wynant |
| 1972 | Pope Joan | Mother Superior |
| 1970 | The Adventurers | Deborah Hadley |
| 1969 | The Extraordinary Seaman | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1966 | Noon Wine | Ellie Thompson |
| 1964 | Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte | Miriam Deering |
| 1964 | Lady in a Cage | Mrs. Cornelia Hilyard |
| 1962 | Light in the Piazza | Meg Johnson |
| 1959 | Libel | Lady Margaret Anne Loddon |
| 1958 | The Proud Rebel | Linnett Moore |
| 1956 | The Ambassador's Daughter | Joan Fisk |
| 1955 | Not as a Stranger | Kristina Hedvigson / Kristina Marsh |
| 1955 | That Lady | Ana de Mendoza |
| 1952 | My Cousin Rachel | Rachel Sangalletti Ashley |
| 1949 | The Heiress | Catherine Sloper |
| 1948 | The Snake Pit | Virginia Stuart Cunningham |
| 1946 | The Dark Mirror | Terry Collins / Ruth Collins |
| 1946 | Devotion | Charlotte Brontë |
| 1946 | To Each His Own | Miss Josephine 'Jody' Norris |
| 1946 | The Well Groomed Bride | Margie Dawson |
| 1944 | Breakdowns of 1944 | Self |
| 1943 | Princess O'Rourke | Princess Maria |
| 1943 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Self |
| 1943 | Government Girl | Elizabeth 'Smokey' Allard |
| 1943 | Show-Business at War | Self |
| 1943 | Stars on Horseback | |
| 1942 | In This Our Life | Roy Timberlake |
| 1942 | The Male Animal | Ellen Turner |
| 1942 | Breakdowns of 1942 | Self |
| 1941 | They Died with Their Boots On | Elizabeth Bacon |
| 1941 | Hold Back the Dawn | Emmy Brown |
| 1941 | The Strawberry Blonde | Amy Lind |
| 1940 | Santa Fe Trail | Kit Carson Holliday |
| 1940 | My Love Came Back | Amelia Cornell |
| 1940 | Cavalcade of the Academy Awards | Self |
| 1939 | Gone with the Wind | Melanie Hamilton |
| 1939 | The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | Lady Penelope Gray |
| 1939 | Dodge City | Abbie Irving |
| 1939 | Wings of the Navy | Irene Dale |
| 1939 | Raffles | Gwen |
| 1938 | The Adventures of Robin Hood | Maid Marian |
| 1938 | Four's a Crowd | Lorri Dillingwell |
| 1938 | Out Where the Stars Begin | Serena Ferris (archive footage) |
| 1938 | Gold Is Where You Find It | Serena Ferris |
| 1938 | Hard to Get | Margaret "Maggie" Richards |
| 1937 | It's Love I'm After | Marcia West |
| 1937 | The Great Garrick | Germaine de la Corbe |
| 1937 | Call It a Day | Catherine 'Cath' Hilton |
| 1937 | A Day at Santa Anita | Olivia de Havilland (uncredited) |
| 1936 | Anthony Adverse | Angela Guiseppe |
| 1936 | The Charge of the Light Brigade | Elsa Campbell |
| 1936 | The Making of a Great Motion Picture | |
| 1936 | Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) | Self |
| 1935 | Captain Blood | Arabella Bishop |
| 1935 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia |
| 1935 | Alibi Ike | Dolly Stevens |
| 1935 | The Irish in Us | Lucille Jackson |
| 1935 | A Dream Comes True | Herself (uncredited) |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Star Life | Self (archive footage) |
| 1986 | Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna | Dowager Empress Maria |
| 1985 | North and South | Mrs. Neal |
| 1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Mrs. Warner |
| 1977 | The Love Boat | Aunt Hilly |
| 1973 | The American Film Institute Salute to ... | Self |
| 1966 | ABC Stage 67 | Ellie Thompson |
| 1964 | The Hollywood Palace | Self |
| 1962 | The Merv Griffin Show | Self |
| 1962 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Self |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self |
| 1954 | Reflets de Cannes | Self |
| 1953 | The Oscars | Self |
| 1950 | What's My Line? | Self - Mystery Guest |
| 1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Winner/Presenter |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Presenter |