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