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Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland

Birthday: 1916-07-01 | Place of Birth: Tokyo, Japan

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".

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2021
The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland

as    Self - Actress

2009
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

as    Self (archive footage)

1988
The Woman He Loved

as    Aunt Bessie Merryman

1986
Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna

as    Dowager Empress Maria

1986
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna

as    Dowager Empress Maria

1982
Murder Is Easy

as    Honoria Waynflete

1982
The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana

as    Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother

1979
The Fifth Musketeer

as    Anne d'Autriche

1978
The Swarm

as    Maureen Schuester

1972
The Screaming Woman

as    Laura Wynant

1972
Pope Joan

as    Mother Superior

1970
The Adventurers

as    Deborah Hadley

1966
Noon Wine

as    Ellie Thompson

1964
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

as    Miriam Deering

1964
Lady in a Cage

as    Mrs. Cornelia Hilyard

1962
Light in the Piazza

as    Meg Johnson

1959
Libel

as    Lady Margaret Anne Loddon

1958
The Proud Rebel

as    Linnett Moore

1956
The Ambassador's Daughter

as    Joan Fisk

1955
Not as a Stranger

as    Kristina Hedvigson / Kristina Marsh

1952
My Cousin Rachel

as    Rachel Sangalletti Ashley

1948
The Snake Pit

as    Virginia Stuart Cunningham

1946
The Well Groomed Bride

as    Margie Dawson

1946
To Each His Own

as    Miss Josephine 'Jody' Norris

1946
The Dark Mirror

as    Terry / Ruth Collins

1943
Government Girl

as    Elizabeth 'Smokey' Allard

1943
Princess O'Rourke

as    Princess Maria

1943
Thank Your Lucky Stars

as    Self