Olivia de Havilland

Older sister of actress Joan Fontaine.

Daughter of film and stage actress Lilian Fontaine.

Relations between Olivia and younger sister Joan Fontaine were never strong and worsened in 1941, when both were nominated for Best Actress Oscar awards. Their mutual dislike and jealousy escalated into an all-out feud after Fontaine won for Suspicion . Despite the fact that de Havilland went on to win two Academy Awards of her own, they remained permanently estranged.

After her divorce in 1979 from second husband Pierre Galante , they remained close friends; after he became ill with cancer, she nursed him until his death in 1998.

As of December 15 2014, the 75th anniversary of the premiere of Gone with the Wind , she is the only surviving major cast member. She has been the only survivor of the four principal leads since 1967. The only other surviving cast member who received screen credit is Mickey Kuhn.

Justly famous for her court victory against Warner Brothers in the mid 1940s (many others had sued Warners but failed), which stopped Warners from adding suspension periods to actors contracts and therefore meant more freedom for actors in Hollywood. It became known as the "de Havilland decision".

Has made Paris her home since the mid 1950s.

Showed flair as a writer when "Every Fenchman Has One," a light-hearted autobiographical account of her attempts at adapting to French life, was published in 1962.

At the age of 82, was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Hertfordshire, England.

Lost her son, Benjamin, to Hodgkins disease in 1991, shortly before his father, writer Marcus Goodrich , passed away.

In 1965 she became the first female president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival.

Turned down the role of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , reportedly saying that "a lady just doesnt say or do those things on the screen". De Havilland set the record straight in a 2006 interview, saying that she had recently given birth to her son when offered the part and was unable to relate to the material.

Is descended from the Haverlands of Normandy, one of whom (the Lord of Haverland) accompanied William the Conquerer in his invasion of England in 1066.

Her father, Walter Augustus de Havilland (1872-1968), was a patent attorney in Japan and also the author of the 1910 book "The ABC of Go", which provides a detailed and comprehensive description of the Japanese board game.

It was reported in October 2001 that she was among 40 prominent French residents who were victims of hoax anthrax attacks (the attacks were proven to be hoaxes after a woman was arrested in Paris for sending out envelopes containing a powdery substance).

She lives a peaceful retirement at her home on Rue Benouville, in Paris. She spends time teaching Sunday school to children at a local church.

She made a special appearance at the The 75th Annual Academy Awards and received a standing ovation.

She holds the record for the most people thanked in an Oscar acceptance speech (27), which she set when she accepted the award for Best Actress for To Each His Own .

In 1991 her son Benjamin Briggs Goodrich, a statistical analyst, died of complications from Hodgkins disease at his mothers home in Paris, France.

Is the 15th cousin twice removed of Errol Flynn , her co-star in The Adventures of Robin Hood .

She and Joan Fontaine are the first sisters to win Oscars and the first ones to be Oscar-nominated in the same year.

Is portrayed by Lee Purcell in My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn .

She and Errol Flynn acted together in eight movies: The Adventures of Robin Hood , Captain Blood (1935) , The Charge of the Light Brigade , Dodge City , Fours a Crowd , The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex , Santa Fe Trail , and They Died with Their Boots On Both are also featured in a ninth film, Thank Your Lucky Stars , although in separate scenes.

Confessed in later years that she had an intense crush on Errol Flynn during the years of their filming, saying that it was hard to resist his charms.

Her mother named her Olivia after William Shakespeare s romantic heroine in "Twelfth Night".

The role of Lisolette Mueller in The Towering Inferno was originally offered to her. It was eventually played by Jennifer Jones.

Was somewhat overweight when she first came to Paramount; Edith Head designed costumes for her with a slimming effect.

Aunt of Debbie Dozier.

Ex-sister-in-law of Collier Young , Brian Aherne and William Dozier.

She has a street named after her in Mexico City. Renowned Mexican actor and director Emilio Fernndez lived in Coyoacan Town on a street with no name at all, so he asked the authorities to name this street "Dulce Olivia," Spanish for "Sweet Olivia," after her.

When she was nine years old she made a will in which she stated, "I bequeath all my beauty to my younger sister Joan [Joan Fontaine ], since she has none".

Was romantically involved with James Stewart , Howard Hughes , John Huston in the late 1930s.

In the 1950s the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson, AZ, named one of their female javelinas "Olivia de Javelina" in her honor; Their male was named "Gregory Peckory" to honor actor Gregory Peck.

Is mentioned in Helge Schneider s book "Die Memoiren des Rodriguez Faszanatas".

In April 1946 she set off a power struggle within the Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions (HICCASP) by refusing to deliver two speeches in Seattle as written by her fellow executive council member Dalton Trumbo , later one of the blacklisted Hollywood Ten. She felt Trumbos text was too left-wing and worried that the organization was becoming "automatically pro-Russian".

In Italy almost all of her films were dubbed by either Dhia Cristiani or Lydia Simoneschi. For the Italian releases of two of her most celebrated and fondly remembered roles, Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind and Maid Marian in The Adventures of Robin Hood , she was dubbed, respectively, by Renata Marini and Dina Perbellini. This was the only time that either Italian actresses lent her voice to Olivia.

Attended the funeral of Charlton Heston in April, 2008.

Attended as a surprise guest honoring the late Bette Davis , her long-time friend and co-star at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles on May 1, 2008. The event, "A Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis", was hosted by film historian Robert Osborne and its reception included Davis son Michael Merrill , her long-time personal assistant Kathryn Sermak and friends Gena Rowlands and Joan Leslie.

She accepted two film roles turned down by Ginger Rogers , To Each His Own and The Snake Pit . She won an Oscar for "To Each His Own" and was nominated for "The Snake Pit". Rogers later regretted turning down the roles and wrote: "It seemed Olivia knew a good thing when she saw it. Perhaps Olivia should thank me for such poor judgment".

Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6764 Hollywood Blvd.

Received the Medal of Arts honor from President George W. Bush at a White House ceremony in the East Room on November 17, 2008, "for her persuasive and compelling skill as an actress in roles from Shakespeares Hermia to Margaret Mitchell s Melanie. Her independence, integrity, and grace won creative freedom for herself and her fellow film actors.".

One of her cousins, Capt. Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1882-1965), was a British aviation pioneer, aircraft designer and owner of the de Havilland Aircraft Co. Its wooden bomber Mosquito has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built. The ill-fated de Havilland Comet was the first commercial jet airliner in 1952.

Was offered the role of Mary Hatch Bailey in Its a Wonderful Life after Jean Arthur turned it down, but she also turned it down.

In a rare act of reconciliation, Olivia and her sister Joan Fontaine celebrated Christmas 1962 together along with their then-husbands and children.

Gave birth to her first child at age 33, son Benjamin Briggs Goodrich, on September 27, 1949. The childs father was her first husband, Marcus Goodrich ; they divorced in 1953, and he died in 1991.

Gave birth to her second child at age 40, daughter Gisle Galante, on July 18, 1956. The childs father was her second husband, Pierre Galante ; they divorced in 1979, and he died in 1998.

Is a staunch liberal Democrat and anti-communist.

Visited New York in the spring of 2004 to film a special commentary programme for the upcoming DVD of Gone with the Wind , to be released in November that year.

[July 2006] Celebrated her 90th birthday at her daughters home in Malibu.

Her paternal grandfather, the Rev. Charles Richard de Havilland, was from a family originally from Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. Her other ancestry includes Anglo-Irish and English.

Was considered for the title role in Mildred Pierce .

Was the 28th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Actress Oscar for To Each His Own at The 19th Academy Awards on March 13, 1947.

As of 2016 she is the earliest surviving recipient of a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. She was nominated in 1940 for Gone with the Wind .

As of 2016 she is the earliest surviving recipient of a Best Actress Oscar nomination. She was nominated in 1942 for Hold Back the Dawn .

In celebration of her 100th birthday, she was honored as Turner Classic Movies Star of the Month for July 2016.

She is only the third Oscar-winning actor to celebrate a 100th birthday. The others are George Burns , who died less than two months after passing the 100-year mark in 1996, and Luise Rainer , who lived to be 104.

Is portrayed by Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Feud" .

Has put her longevity down to the three Ls: "Love, laughter and learning".

[May 1999] Revealed in a UK press interview that she was a great admirer of the then 98-year-old Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (whom she had earlier portrayed in the TV film The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana ), stating that she hoped "to follow her example and live many years longer".

Is one of 12 actresses to have won a Best Actress Oscar for playing a character who is pregnant at some point during the film, hers being for To Each His Own. The others are Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet , Luise Rainer for The Good Earth , Vivien Leigh for Gone with the Wind , Ginger Rogers for Kitty Foyle , Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda , Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo , Julie Christie for Darling , Liza Minnelli for Cabaret , Sissy Spacek for Coal Miners Daughter , and Frances McDormand for Fargo .

Holds two world records for the actor/actress surviving the longest after the production of one film and the release of another, both of which she had a starring role. She has survived over 82 years and counting, after her starring role in the film, A Midsummer Nights Dream (1935) , wrapped production. Her next movie, Alibi Ike (1935) , was released before her first, giving her another world record for the longest length of time any actor has survived after the initial release of a film they starred in.

Two weeks before her 101st birthday, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 Birthday Honours by Queen Elizabeth II for services to Drama. She is the oldest woman ever to receive the honor. In a statement, she called it "the most gratifying of birthday presents.".

In June 2017, Olivia de Havilland sued the creators and producers, companies FX and Ryan Murphy Productions, of the series "Feud" due to what she felt was an unauthorized and inaccurate portrayal of her in the shows first season "Bette and Joan". A statement from her lawyers read: "Miss de Havilland was not asked by FX for permission to use her name and identity and was not compensated for such use." "Further, the FX series puts words in the mouth of Miss de Havilland which are inaccurate and contrary to the reputation she has built over an 80-year professional life, specifically refusing to engage in gossip mongering about other actors in order to generate media attention for herself".

On June 30, 2017 filed a lawsuit against FX Network and the producers of "Feud" over her portrayal by Catherine Zeta-Jones .

[on Hush. . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) ]: It was full of traps;,it was a delicate tightrope assignment. I found that very interesting.

He knew how to tell a story very clearly and he knew how to keep things,going.

We were right.

To write is divine. Forget all the rest.

Personally, I think women ruled from the first, and that we were better,off not to let the men know about it. Movies should return to,mystiques.

[on Dodge City (1939) ] I was in such a depressed state that I,could hardly remember my lines.

[on her damehood] I am extremely honoured that the Queen has appointed,me a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. To receive this,honour as my 101st birthday approaches is the most gratifying of,birthday presents.

I wanted to be what my high-school civics and history teacher thought of as a good American. That automatically involved taking an interest in government.

I would prefer to live forever in perfect health, but if I must at some time leave this life, I would like to do so ensconced on a chaise longue, perfumed, wearing a velvet robe and pearl earrings, with a flute of champagne beside me and having just discovered the answer to the last problem in a British cryptic crossword. .