Olivia Mary de Havilland , born on July 1st 1916 with Tokyo (Japan), is an American actress of British origin .

Biography

Olivia is the girl of British parents, the lawyer Walter De Havilland and the actress Lillian Fontaine. His/her sister is not other than Joan Fontaine (born in 1917). The family De Havilland moved Tokyo when Olivia was two years old, to settle with Saratoga, in California. She went to the school of Los Gatos High School and the convent of Notre Dame to Belmont.

His/her father was the half-brother of Charles De Havilland, him even the father of the famous pioneer of the aviation Sir Geoffrey De Havilland (deceased in 1965) which founded the De Havilland Aircraft Company.

Its career started in Alibi Ike with Joe E. Brown in 1935. It appears by the role of Hermia in the one night Dream of summer (Midsummer Night' S Dream has), its first play, with the Hollywood Bowl. One made then this part a film with the same distribution. De Havilland divided the poster with Errol Flynn in many popular films such as Capitaine Blood (Capitain Blood) , the Load of the light brigade (The Charge off the Light Brigade) in 1936, and became Dame Mariane in the Adventures of Robin of Wood (1938) (The Adventure off Robin Hood) in 1938. It lends its features to Melanie Wilkes in Gone With The Wind (Gone with the Wind) in 1939, and receives from it a nomination for the Oscar of the best actress in a supporting role (than Hattie McDaniel playing Mama in same film, will gain). In 1941, it naturalizes American citizen. Olivia and its Joan sister are each one nominated for the Oscar of the best actress in 1942. It was Joan which carried it for its performance in Soupçons (Suspicion) of Alfred Hitchcock vis-a-vis the nomination of his/her sister for By the gold door (Hold Back the Dawn) . The biographer Charles Higham describing the events of this ceremony, declared that Fontaine advancing to receive his reward, singularly rejected the attempts at congratulations which Olivia wanted to address to him, and which this one was wounded and embarrassed by such a behavior. He explained why the sisters had a complicated relation, and that although both refused to comment on the incident, declared that this episode was the catalyst of what wants to be to be two lives filled of quarrels. The two women have remained in bad terms for this day.

During the same time, Olivia became increasingly frustrated by the roles being assigned him. It estimated to be able to play of another role that the wise young ladies in distress become stereotype, and started to reject scenarios suggested for this type of characters. Being given the law making it possible the studios to suspend the contracts of the actors in the event of rejection of a role, the period of suspension was added to the duration of the contract. In theory, this makes it possible a studio indefinitely to maintain its control on contractual. Not accepting this situation more, rare are those having tried to modify the system; Bette Davis brought an unfruitful lawsuit with the Warner Bros. Pictures during the Thirties. Olivia brought of them to them one in the Forties and this one bore its fruits, so the capacity of the studios was reduced and extended the freedom of creativity of the actors. This decision was one of the legal acts most important and greater scale hitherto with Hollywood. Its courage by bringing this lawsuit was worth the respect and the admiration of his/her colleagues to him. The quality and the variety of its roles started to improve. It gained the Oscar of the best actress for With each one its destiny (To Each His Own) in 1946 and one second for the Heiress (The Heiress) in 1949 and, was largely covered with praises for his third nomination in the same category for the Pit with the snakes (The Snake Pit). This film was one of the first to try to carry out a realistic portrait of the mental disease, and Olivia de Havilland was rented for its will to play a character completely stripped of glamor and to be confronted with so many discussed subjects. It appeared in few films during the Années 1950, partly because of the permissive development of Hollywood films. It declined the role of Blanche Dubois in a tram named Désir ( has Streetcar Named Desire ), because of the immoral nature of certain elements of script, and counterparts which it could not allow to pronounce. The role was finally allotted to its partner in Gone With The Wind , Vivien Leigh, which gained the second Oscar of its career for this role. Olivia de Havilland continued its career until the Années 1980.

Living with Paris since 1953, it lives with the variation of the cinema world. She stated to work on an autobiography. Its last public appearance was as a presenter with the 75e ceremony of the Oscars in 2003. Turner Classic Movies diffused documentary retrospective named " Melanie Remembers" and in which Olivia de Havilland is interviewed for the 65e birthday of the exit of Gone With The Wind . 88 years, it reminds all the details of its casting (it was in contract with Warner who initially refused to lend it to Selznick) and of turning. The documentary one lasts a little less than 40 minutes and figure in the edition collector 4 dvd of Gone With The Wind .

Anecdotes

  • Olivia went to school of Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos in California. Thereafter, a reward of interpretation was named by its name.
  • It was good friend with her partner of many films, Bette Davis.
  • His/her father, Walter De Havilland, was the half-brother of Charles de Havilland, who was the father of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, celebrates it pioneer of aviation.
  • Its first husband was Marcus Goodrich of 1946 to 1953, the second was Pierre Galante, of 1955 to 1979.
  • It had two children (each one of his/her husbands): Benjamin (1949-1991), which was a mathematician and Gisele (1956) who devoted themselves to journalism
  • In 1965, it became the first woman with being a president of the jury to the Cannes festival.
  • You can find star of Olivia de Havilland on the Hollywood Walk off Famed to the 6762 Hollywood Avenue.
  • Of the four stars of Gone With The Wind ( Gone with the Wind ), the others being Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Leslie Howard, it is the last with being still alive. Ironically, it is the only one of the four whose character dies at the end.

Catalog of films

Rewards

Oscar

Golden Globes

External bonds

  • Olivia de Havilland on Internet Movie Database
  • Olivia de Havilland on Allociné
  • Olivia de Havilland on Reality Classic
  • Homage to the actress

Simple: Olivia de Havilland

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