Olivia de Havilland
Acting
Born: July 1, 1916 · Tokyo, Japan
Died: July 26, 2020 (aged 104)
Highest Rated
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
Gone with the Wind
1939
The Adventures of Robin Hood
1938
Airport '77
1977
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
The Heiress
1949
Captain Blood
1935
The Swarm
1978
The Love Boat
1977
North and South
1985
The Dark Mirror
1946
They Died with Their Boots On
1941
The Snake Pit
1948
Photos (24)
Movies (58)
Gone with the Wind
Melanie Hamilton
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Maid Marian
The Swarm
Maureen
Airport '77
Emily Livingston
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Miriam Deering
Captain Blood
Arabella Bishop
The Heiress
Catherine Sloper
They Died with Their Boots On
Elizabeth Bacon
The Strawberry Blonde
Amy Lind
The Dark Mirror
Terry Collins / Ruth Collins
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Hermia
Dodge City
Abbie Irving
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
Lady Penelope Gray
The Snake Pit
Virginia Cunningham
The Proud Rebel
Linnett Moore
Government Girl
Elizabeth 'Smokey' Allard
The Adventurers
Deborah Hadley
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Elsa Campbell
Santa Fe Trail
Kit Carson Holliday
My Cousin Rachel
Rachel Ashley
In This Our Life
Roy Timberlake
The Fifth Musketeer
Anne d'Autriche
Four's a Crowd
Lorri Dillingwell
Pope Joan
Mother Superior
Murder Is Easy
Honoria Waynflete
Light in the Piazza
Meg Johnson
The Woman He Loved
Aunt Bessie Merryman
Gold Is Where You Find It
Serena Ferris
The Screaming Woman
Laura Wynant
Not as a Stranger
Kristina Hedvigson / Kristina Marsh
To Each His Own
Miss Josephine 'Jody' Norris
Hold Back the Dawn
Emmy Brown
The Male Animal
Ellen Turner
Jacques Tati, tombé de la lune
2021
That Lady
Ana de Mendoza
Anthony Adverse
Angela Guiseppe
Lady in a Cage
Mrs. Cornelia Hilyard
It's Love I'm After
Marcia West
Libel
Lady Margaret Anne Loddon
Princess O'Rourke
Princess Maria
The Great Garrick
Germaine de la Corbe
The Ambassador's Daughter
Joan Fisk
My Love Came Back
Amelia Cornell
The Well Groomed Bride
Margie Dawson
Wings of the Navy
Irene Dale
Raffles
Gwen
Devotion
Charlotte Brontë
Call It a Day
Catherine 'Cath' Hilton
The Irish in Us
Lucille Jackson
Destins secrets d’étoiles - Grace, Jackie, Liz, Marilyn…
2015
Hard to Get
Margaret "Maggie" Richards
Noon Wine
Ellie Thompson
The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana
Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother
Alibi Ike
Dolly Stevens
A Day at Santa Anita
Olivia de Havilland (uncredited)
Stars on Horseback
1943
The Making of a Great Motion Picture
1936
Out Where the Stars Begin
Serena Ferris (archive footage)
TV Shows (5)
Self / Appearances (37)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee / Presenter · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · 1 eps
The Mike Douglas Show
Self · 2 eps
The Merv Griffin Show
Self · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self · 7 eps
People's Choice Awards
Self · 1 eps
What's My Line?
Self · 4 eps
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · 1 eps
The Hollywood Palace
Self · 1 eps
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · 1 eps
Reflets de Cannes
Self · 1 eps
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Self
The Fabulous Allan Carr
Self (archive)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Self
Gone with the Wind – Makeup and Wardrobe Tests
Self (archive footage)
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
Self (archive footage)
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
Self - Actress (also archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self (archive footage)
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Self
The Extraordinary Seaman
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Show-Business at War
Self
Breakdowns of 1942
Self
Breakdowns of 1944
Self
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
Self (Archive footage)
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
Self
British Pathé Newsreels: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland
Self - Actress
Inside 'the Swarm'
Self
Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn
Self (archive footage)
A Dream Comes True
Herself (uncredited)
Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano
Self
Errol Flynn: Portrait of a Swashbuckler
Self
Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland
Herself