Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland

Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; born July 1, 1916) is a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films, was one of the leading actors of her time, and is among the last surviving movie stars of Classical Hollywood cinema. Her younger sister was actress Joan Fontaine. De Havilland first came to prominence as a screen couple with Errol Flynn in adventure films such as Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). One of her best-known roles is Melanie Hamilton in the film classic Gone with the Wind (1939), for which she received her first of five Oscar nominations, the only one for Best Supporting Actress. De Havilland departed from ingénue roles in the 1940s and later received acclaim for her performances in Hold Back the Dawn (1941), To Each His Own (1946), The Snake Pit (1948), and The Heiress (1949), receiving nominations for Best Actress for each, winning for To Each His Own and The Heiress. She was also successful in work on stage and television. De Havilland has lived in Paris since the 1950s, and received honours such as the National Medal of the Arts, the Légion d'honneur, and the appointment to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

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