Olivia de Havilland

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".

Gone with the Wind

7.9

The Adventures of Robin Hood

7.5

Airport '77

5.6

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

7.3

The Heiress

7.8

Captain Blood

7.2

The Love Boat

6.3

The Swarm

5.0

North and South

7.4

They Died with Their Boots On

6.6

The Dark Mirror

6.9

The Snake Pit

7.1

Dodge City

6.9

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

6.3

The Charge of the Light Brigade

6.5

Lady in a Cage

6.2

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

7.4

The Oscars

6.9

The Strawberry Blonde

6.9

Santa Fe Trail

5.7

In This Our Life

6.8

My Cousin Rachel

6.7

A Midsummer Night's Dream

6.5

Hold Back the Dawn

6.6

The Proud Rebel

6.0

Not as a Stranger

6.2

Thank Your Lucky Stars

6.1

Roots: The Next Generations

7.4

Anthony Adverse

5.7

To Each His Own

6.8

It's Love I'm After

7.0

What's My Line?

6.8

Light in the Piazza

6.3

Libel

7.0

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.6

Princess O'Rourke

6.4

Raffles

6.0

Murder Is Easy

6.4

The Screaming Woman

6.7

The Fifth Musketeer

5.0

Golden Globe Awards

6.8

Four's a Crowd

5.1

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

7.5

Devotion

6.0

The Adventurers

4.5

The Great Garrick

5.9

The Male Animal

4.1

Gold Is Where You Find It

6.9

Government Girl

5.2

The Ambassador's Daughter

4.3

Pope Joan

5.9

The Merv Griffin Show

5.6

The Mike Douglas Show

5.1

The Irish in Us

7.7

My Love Came Back

5.2

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies

8.5

Wings of the Navy

6.0

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

7.8

Hard to Get

6.0

Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland

7.2

The Extraordinary Seaman

2.6

Alibi Ike

5.8

That Lady

6.0

Noon Wine

6.8

The Hollywood Palace

4.5

ABC Stage 67

6.0

Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna

7.0

Out Where the Stars Begin

6.5

The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana

4.7

Night of 100 Stars II

8.0

Show-Business at War

7.0

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

6.5

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

8.0

Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano

7.3

The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland

7.3

The American Film Institute Salute to ...

6.3

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

6.5

The Well Groomed Bride

4.0

Breakdowns of 1944

6.5

The Making of a Great Motion Picture

5.0

Inside 'the Swarm'

10.0

Call It a Day

5.0

The Woman He Loved

10.0

A Day at Santa Anita

5.0

A Dream Comes True

5.5

Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)

6.0

Breakdowns of 1942

6.0

Star Life

10.0

Reflets de Cannes

2.0

Errol Flynn: Portrait of a Swashbuckler

0.0

Stars on Horseback

0.0