Olivia De Havilland
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Received the Women's National Press Club Award in 1949.
She was thrice given the LOOK Magazine Award in 1941, 1948 and 1949.
Biography
One of the premiere leading ladies of Hollywood’s Golden Age, actress Olivia de Havilland first became known for her roles as demure ingénues opposite cinema’s most popular male stars. The older sister and professional contemporary of actress Joan Fontaine, de Havilland began her career as a contract star for Warner Bros. Pictures in 1935. Her breakout film, the swashbuckling adventure "Captain Blood" (1936) opposite Errol Flynn, was the first entry in one of filmdom’s greatest romantic onscreen pairings. She appeared with Flynn in seven more features, including "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) and made history the following year with her role as the noble Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, best friend of flawed heroine Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) in the timeless classic "Gone with the Wind" (1939). Behind the scenes, a rumored sibling rivalry between her and Fontaine was the subject of Hollywood gossip for decades. The actress won her first Academy Award for her starring role in the melodrama "To Each His Own" (1946). Embracing flawed, unglamorous characters, de Havilland garnered acclaim for her work in "The Snake Pit" (1948) and picked up a second Oscar with "The Heiress" (1949). By the 1950s, de Havilland’s film output decreased substantially, with her appearance opposite fellow icon Bette Davis in "Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964) being one of her more notable late-career efforts. A true luminary of the silver screen, de Havilland would always be remembered for the elegance and grace she possessed both on and off camera.
Olivia Mary de Havilland was born in Tokyo, Japan on July 1, 1916. She was the eldest daughter of Walter de Havilland, a lawyer, and the former Lilian Augusta Ruse, an actress who went by the stage name, Lilian Fontaine. Her younger sister was actress Joan Fontaine, from whom de Havilland was estranged for more than eight decades, due some said, to professional rivalry. But it surely went deeper than that, since both became accomplished actresses and even Oscar winners. The family moved from Tokyo when the future Academy Award winner was two years old, and settled in Saratoga, CA. De Havilland attended high school at Los Gatos High School, where an acting award was named after her, and also went to Notre Dame Convent Catholic Girls' School in Belmont, CA. De Havilland's career began with a co-starring role in "Alibi Ike" (1935). She appeared as Hermia in the stage production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a character she later reprised in the film version that was produced by Warner Bros. in 1935. After being signed to the studio – one famous for its male-driven output of gangster films and the occasional musical – a string of "damsel in distress" roles followed. It was a character that became her trademark onscreen persona, due in part to the limitations for actresses at Warner Bros., but also one she ultimately grew frustrated with.
The young ingénue starred opposite their newest star, swashbuckler Errol Flynn in popular films like "Captain Blood" (1935), "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1936), and as Maid Marian in the timeless classic, "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938). Such was their personal chemistry, the pair became of Tinseltown's most attractive and dynamic onscreen couples, appearing in eight films together. But despite rumors of any on-set romance, a la Tracy and Hepburn, de Havilland claimed she never fell for Flynn's infamous advances. The actor – who bedded virtually every woman he set his eyes on – reportedly grew fond of the actress during the filming of "Captain Blood," and by the time they were filming "The Charge of the Light Brigade," he was hooked – most likely because she was the one woman to turn him down. The dashing actor was also unhappily married to actress Lili Damita at the time. In truth, the older Flynn intimidated De Havilland, who was barely in her 20s. Plus, she was rumored to have been wary of his unusual courting tactics of playing jokes on her. He was reported to have placed a dead snake in her underwear as a prank, which she, not surprisingly, did not find too amusing. But the actress did reveal that in spite of it all, she was still quite taken with Flynn. In an interview, she said, "He was a charming and magnetic man. I had a crush on him, and later I found he did for me. In fact, he proposed, but he was not divorced from Lili Damita so it was just as well that I said no." De Havilland was also romantically linked to John Huston, James Stewart and Howard Hughes in the early 1940s. She married Marcus Goodrich, a novelist, in 1946; the pair divorced in 1953. They had a son, Benjamin, who died in 1991.
De Havilland's landing the part of Melanie in the epic film "Gone with the Wind" was no easy feat for the young actress who yet to make the A-list, despite her successes with Flynn. She was still under contract with Warner in 1938 when the film's original director, George Cukor, called her to audition for the role of Melanie. The 22-year-old accepted the offer, knowing fully that she was doing something illegal. Driving herself to Cukor's office, she read for him and got the part. Almost. Warner Bros. refused to loan her out to MGM, even after she begged Jack Warner to let her do the movie. She was so desperate, she turned to Warner's wife for help, explaining how much the role meant to her. After his wife intervened, Warner let de Havilland be in the cast of what is still one of the most celebrated movies of all time. Her touching performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Only she and co-star Clark Gable were shut out of wins, as Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara and Hattie McDaniels as the O'Hara servant, Mammy, both earned acting Oscars, as did the picture and its producer, David O. Selzick and the film's second director, Victor Fleming (Cukor had been replaced after Gable threw his weight around, uncomfortable with the homosexual Cukor's focus on the female characters; insisting the man's man Fleming take over the reigns).
The actress may have portrayed the demure, damsel in distress role to perfection, but in reality, de Havilland became wary of always playing the "love interest." She even mounted a famous for its time lawsuit against Warner Bros. that ultimately gave actors more creative freedom than ever before. In 1941, de Havilland sued the company over the terms of her contract. Her contract was already expired, but the studio told her that six months had been added to it for times that she had been on suspension; the studios were allowed then to suspend actors for rejecting a role and the period of suspension to be added to the contract period. Most actors accepted the situation, but de Havilland fought the system by suing the studio. The Screen Actors Guild backed her up, and she eventually won. The decision was one of the most important legal rulings in Hollywood. It was the first time actors were extended more freedom over their careers. The ruling was known as, and still is, referred to as the "de Havilland law." Warner Bros. vowed to never hire the actress again.
She need not have worried about any bad blood shed at Warner Bros. In the mid-1940s, de Havilland gained critical acceptance for playing more serious roles she has always wished to play. She won the Best Actress Academy Awards for "To Each His Own" (1946), where her character became pregnant out of wedlock, and also for "The Heiress" (1949). She received much praise for her Oscar-nominated performance in "The Snake Pit" (1948), one of the first movies to bring to light the controversial issue of mental illness. In the movie, de Havilland's character was committed to an insane asylum; the role was very unglamorous and a stark contrast to her previous roles.
Time heals all wounds, some say, but it apparently did not apply to the feud between the De Havilland sisters. De Havilland's relationship (or lack thereof) with her sister, Joan Fontaine, was one for the books. The sisters' decades-long rivalry – they stopped speaking to each other in 1976 – was fraught with hostility and jealousy that many say must have stemmed from childhood, when de Havilland ripped her sister's hand-me-downs, forcing Joan to sew them back together. Their mother must have added fuel to the fire, as she reportedly favored her elder daughter over Fontaine. During their acting careers, the sisters chased after the same roles, and were pitted against each other for several acting awards. In 1942, both sisters were up for the Best Actress award; Fontaine took home the Oscar for her role in Alfred Hitchcock's "Suspicion" (1941) over de Havilland's nomination for "Hold Back the Dawn" (1941). During the ceremony, after Fontaine's name was announced as the winner, she reportedly rejected her sister's outstretched hand, ready to congratulate her. De Havilland was humiliated by the gesture.
De Havilland continued to make films after the 1950s, but her roles were far and few between as Hollywood turned its eyes on toward younger, more permissive actresses. She reportedly turned down the role of Blanche Dubois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) because of its suggestive themes and racy dialogue. The role went to her "Gone with the Wind" co-star, Vivien Leigh, who won an Oscar. De Havilland continued to make movies until the 1970s and made several television appearances, most notably as the Dowager Empress Maria in the 1986 miniseries "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna" (NBC), which earned her a Golden Globe award and an Emmy nomination. Having finally had her fill of Hollywood, the actress moved to Paris for the remainder of her life. She was a presenter at the 75th Annual Academy Awards in 2003 and was reportedly working on an autobiography, still the graceful, classy lady even into her ninth decade.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (Short)
Misc. Crew (Short)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1919
Moved to California with her mother and sister after parent's divorce
1933
Appeared in local production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" while a freshman in college; seen by director Max Reinhardt and hired for his stage and screen versions of the play
1934
Professional stage debut as Hermia in Max Reinhardt's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Hollywood Bowl
1935
Made film debut in Max Reinhardt's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
1935
First of eight co-starring appearances with Errol Flynn, "Captain Blood"; also first of nine collaborations with director Michael Curtiz
1935
First film released, "Alibi Ike"
1935
Signed by Warner Bros. to a seven-year contract
1939
Received Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Melanie in "Gone With the Wind"; fellow cast member Hattie McDaniel carried off the prize
1941
Received Academy Award nomination as Best Actress for "Hold Back the Dawn"; lost to sister Joan Fontaine
1941
Last co-starring appearance with Errol Flynn, "They Died With Their Boots On"
1943
Engaged in long-running dispute with Warner Bros. when they tried to add on the time she was suspended to her seven-year contract; her lawyer won the case and the court verdict became known as the de Havilland decision
1946
Earned first Best Actress Oscar as a woman who gives her child up in "To Each His Own"
1948
Nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award as an inmate in a mental institution in "The Snake Pit"
1949
Won her second Oscar as Best Actress for "The Heiress"
1958
Ninth and last film with Curtiz, "Proud Rebel"
1962
Starred on Broadway in "A Gift of Time"
1964
Offered a marvelous turn as Bette Davis' conniving cousin in Robert Aldrich's "Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte"
1966
TV debut in "Noon Wine" on "ABC Stage 67"
1972
TV-movie debut in gothic horror story, "The Screaming Woman" (ABC)
1977
Acted in "Airport '77"
1979
Last feature to date, "The 5th Musketeer"
1979
Played Mrs Warner in the ABC miniseries "Roots: The Next Generations"
1986
Received Golden Globe Award (and Emmy nomination) for her portrayal of the Dowager Empress Maria in the NBC miniseries "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna"
1988
Last screen appearance to date as Wallace Simpson's Aunt Bessie in the CBS movie "The Woman He Loved"
Photo Collections
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Movie Clip
Trailer
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Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Received the Women's National Press Club Award in 1949.
She was thrice given the LOOK Magazine Award in 1941, 1948 and 1949.
De Havilland received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire in 1998
Asked if she had ever been able to just sit back and watch "Gone With the Wind" objectively: "In times past, no. But that's exactly how I did it this time. It's the power of that movie to reach out and pull you, draw you in to the story, and into all the characters. I could identify with them all. I was identifying with Rhett! With Mammy! With the lot. It has a quality of intimacy in itself. You feel that you belong to them and they to you."There was one exception to that objectivity. I did remember what this film meant to both David and Irene Selznick, his wife at the time, and the immense emotional investment they put into that film. They had very high standards, and I kept thinking of Daivd's love for that film when we were making it. (She becomes teary-eyed.) In a way, it's a beautiful thing, not only to see that the film endures but all his [Selznick's] love and passion too."---Olivia de Havilland in LOS ANGELES TIMES, June 17, 1998.
About reading opposite George Cukor (as Scarlett O'Hara) for an audience of David O Selznick to earn the role of Melanie in "GWTW": "George gave a very pasionate performance, clutching the drapes. I thought it was the wildest spectacle imaginable, but a part of me kept control and played it as if Scarlett was there. It was a miracle that I managed to do it. And it was because of that scene that I was chosen."---Olivia de Havilland quoted in THE NEW YORK TIMES, June 22, 1998.
"Clark [Gable] was truly afraid of the role. He'd invested his whole career in it, and had more to lose than anyone. Everybody in America had an idea of Rhett Butler. And the question was whether Clark could fulfill their fantasies . . ."I'm ashamed to say it. But while I admire Ashley, understand him and like his sense of principle, in the end, it's Rhett that I'd want."I think many women have asked themselves that question, which is one reason the film remains so vital. Actually, it seems more extraordinary than ever."I can't believe that at the end of this century, almost 60 years after we made it, it's still such a wonderful favorite. That makes me very happy, and very proud."---De Havilland to NEW YORK POST, June 22, 1998.
"I have taken a long vacation, but I wouldn't object to a fascinating part in a first-rate project, something I felt I could do well or would understand and interpret in an effective way. Then I would say, 'Yes.' The offers still come, but not what I'm looking for."---Olivia de Havilland, to Associated Press writer Bob Thomas in 1998
"I loved her. I loved everything she stood for. In those days the particular qualities that made her so admirable, and she's a deeply feminine person, were endangered and they are in a perpetual state of danger."---Olivia de Havilland on playing Melanie in "Gone With the Wind" to CNN.com, December 1, 2004.
