Olivia de Havilland, an iconic actress during Hollywood’s Golden Age, is photographed at the Daily News’ studio on May 10, 1945. De Havilland began her storied life with her birth to British parents on July 1, 1916, in Japan, and a childhood focussed on the arts. Her younger sister, Joan Fontaine, born 15 months later, sparked a lifelong, public rivalry. They are the only siblings that have both won Academy Awards in a leading category. Nominated four times for an Academy Award, de Havilland won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for both “To Each His Own” (1946) and “The Heiress” (1950). Among her 49 feature film roles, de Havilland is also well-known for her role as Melanie Hamilton in “Gone with the Wind” (1939). She appeared on Broadway in three plays, including “Romeo and Juliet” (1951) as well as in TV roles such as the TV film, “Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna” (1986) where she won both a Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She was honored in 2008 with a National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush. On June 17, 2017, at almost age 101, she became the oldest person to be appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, an honor bestowed by Queen Elizabeth.
Olivia de Havilland, an iconic actress during Hollywood’s Golden Age, began her storied life with her birth to British parents on July 1, 1916, in Japan, and a childhood focused on the arts. Her younger sister, Joan Fontaine, born 15 months later, sparked a lifelong, public rivalry. They are the only siblings that have both won Academy Awards in a leading category. Nominated four times for an Academy Award, de Havilland won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for both ‘To Each His Own’ (1946) and ‘The Heiress’ (1950). Among her 49 feature film roles, de Havilland is also well-known for her role as Melanie Hamilton in ‘Gone with the Wind’ (1939). She appeared on Broadway in three plays, including ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (1951) as well as in TV roles such as the TV film, ‘Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna’ (1986), where she won both a Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She was honored in 2008 with a National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush. On June 17, 2017, at almost age 101, she became the oldest person to be appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, an honor bestowed by Queen Elizabeth. On July 25, 2020, Dame Olivia de Havilland died peacefully in her sleep in Paris. She was 104.
Olivia de Havilland, an iconic actress during Hollywood’s Golden Age, is photographed at the Daily News’ studio on May 10, 1945. De Havilland began her storied life with her birth to British parents on July 1, 1916, in Japan, and a childhood focussed on the arts. Her younger sister, Joan Fontaine, born 15 months later, sparked a lifelong, public rivalry. They are the only siblings that have both won Academy Awards in a leading category. Nominated four times for an Academy Award, de Havilland won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for both “To Each His Own” (1946) and “The Heiress” (1950). Among her 49 feature film roles, de Havilland is also well-known for her role as Melanie Hamilton in “Gone with the Wind” (1939). She appeared on Broadway in three plays, including “Romeo and Juliet” (1951) as well as in TV roles such as the TV film, “Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna” (1986) where she won both a Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She was honored in 2008 with a National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush. On June 17, 2017, at almost age 101, she became the oldest person to be appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, an honor bestowed by Queen Elizabeth.
Hollywood screen star Olivia de Havilland relaxes in the garden of her new home in Hollywood, circa 1938.
British-American actress Olivia de Havilland is seen in a photo from 1938.
Hollywood screen star Olivia de Havilland is at the opera with American actor Billy Bakewell (1908 – 1993), circa 1939.
Joan Fontaine (1917 – 1913), the British born actress and sister of Olivia de Havilland, wears a hyacinth blue crepe afternoon dress, circa 1939. Fontaine and De Havilland reportedly carried their childhood sibling rivalry throughout their lifetimes.
From left are Olivia de Havilland, film investor Jock Whitney, Vivien Leigh, and Laurence Olivier, as they arrive on Jan. 5, 1940, for the Hollywood premiere of “Gone With The Wind.”
Olivia de Havilland, center, leans in to hear a conversation while lunching with her sister Joan Fontaine and actor John Payne, circa 1940.
British actor David Niven, left, is pictured with Olivia de Havilland and Douglas Walton in 1940. They star in the Samuel Goldwyn film “Raffles” based on the novel “Raffles The Amateur Cracksman” by E. W. Hornung and directed by Sam Wood.
Actors Olivia de Havilland and Franchot Tone, a new Hollywood twosome, arrive for the Hollywood opening of “Citizen Kane,” the Orson Welles opus, on May 8, 1941.
In “To Each His Own,” Olivia de Havilland plays the part of an 18-year-old girl when World War I was at its height. Later in the film, during World War II, the actress is an executive in London. Here, the make-up artist makes the star appear younger for the earlier scenes on July 21, 1946, in Hollywood.
“To Each His Own” is a story of frustrated mother’s love in a small midwestern town. For the final sequences in the film, the make-up artist adds age lines to Olivia de Havilland, on July 21, 1946, in Hollywood.
Joe Moran, associate director of radio at the Young & Rubicam advertising firm, is presented with yet another toy lion to add to his collection, by actress Olivia de Havilland on Aug. 19, 1946, in New York. Moran attributes a good measure of his success to his lion collecting hobby. De Havilland is opening a new play, “What Every Woman Knows,” at Westport, Conn., shortly, and hopes it will be a hit.
British-American actress Olivia de Havilland poses with her husband, author Marcus Goodrich (1897-1991), after their wedding in Cannondale, Conn., on Aug. 26, 1946.
Olivia de Havilland receives her Best Actress Oscar from actor Ray Milland (1907 – 1986) for her performance in “To Each His Own” directed by Mitchell Leisen.
Olivia de Havilland curls up in the living room of her Beverly Hills, Calif. home while reading a script on April 16, 1948.
Olivia de Havilland is at a reception in an undated photograph.
The top Academy Awards go to from left, Broderick Crawford, Best Actor; Olivia de Havilland, Best Actress; Mercedes McCambridge, Best Supporting Actress; and Dean Jagger, Best Supporting Actor on March 23, 1950.
Olivia de Havilland won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in “The Heiress” on March 23, 1950.
Olivia de Havilland and Broderick Crawford pose with their Oscars at the Academy Awards dinner in Los Angeles, Ca., March 23, 1950. De Havilland won the Best Actress Award for “The Heiress,” and Crawford won the Best Actor Award for “All the King’s Men.”
Olivia de Havilland puts her Oscar on her shelf on March 23, 1950, after a long night speaking to the press and receiving congratulations from friends after winning her second Best Actress Award, this one for her role in “The Heiress.”
Actress Joan Fontaine, right, is in New York while her sister Olivia de Havilland, left, holding the Oscar she won for best actress at the Academy Awards, is in Hollywood on March 23, 1950. In rare public remarks about her sister and fellow Oscar-winning actress, Olivia de Havilland mourned the loss of Joan Fontaine on Dec. 16, 2013, with a statement issued to the Associated Press saying she was “shocked and saddened” by the news and that she was grateful for “the many kind expressions of sympathies.”
Olivia de Havilland, a two-time Oscar winner, sips tea in her dressing room on May 17, 1952, in a New York theater after her attorney announced she had separated from her husband, author Marcus Goodrich, and is contemplating divorce.
Olivia de Havilland told the court she was the family breadwinner on August 26, 1952, and asked for no alimony from her husband, Marcus Goodrich.
Walter de Havilland, 81, of Victoria, B.C., and father of actresses Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine, gets an enthusiastic welcome from Olivia de Havilland on his arrival on Nov. 10, 1952, in Los Angeles. Walter, who is a British subject, is here to visit his two famous daughters.
John Wayne shows the gold statuettes he accepted for Gary Cooper and John Ford to two former Academy Award winners, Olivia de Havilland, left, and Janet Gaynor, after the ceremony on March 19, 1953, in Hollywood. Cooper won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in “High Noon” and Ford won the Oscar for Best Director for “The Quiet Man.” Neither man was in town for the presentations. Gaynor was handed the first Oscar ever presented to an actress 25 years prior.
Olivia de Havilland and her fiance, French journalist Pierre Galante, are seen on March 30, 1955, in Paris.
Olivia de Havilland and French journalist Pierre Galante get married on April 2, 1955, in Yvoy-le-Marron, France.
Olivia de Havilland and French journalist Pierre Galante, leave Town Hall on April 2, 1955, in Yvoy-Le-Marron, 100 miles south of Paris, near Orleans, after their marriage. In the foreground is Benjamin Goodrich, 5, the actress’s son by a former marriage. De Havilland wore a grey flannel suit, a white hat with a veil and shoes and purse in grey suede.
Olivia de Havilland and French journalist Pierre Galante celebrate after getting married on April 2, 1955, at Yvoy-le-Marron, France.
Olivia de Havilland and her husband, Pierre Galante, a journalist for Paris Match, are at Tony Prantera’s Ostaria dell’Orsa on April 4, 1955, in Rome. The couple arrived in Rome from France, where they were married. They plan to go to the Isle of Ischia to spend the rest of their honeymoon.
British-American actress Olivia de Havilland and her second husband, French journalist Pierre Galante (1909 – 1998), pose with their newborn daughter, Gisele, at the American Hospital in Paris on July 23, 1956.
Olivia de Havilland practices yoga in her hotel room on Sept. 18, 1958, in London before she attends the premiere of her latest film. She says this and other yoga exercises keep her relaxed.
Olivia de Havilland gets her hair and make-up done in 1958.
Olivia de Havilland and Henry Fonda are backstage on Feb. 22, 1962, at Broadway’s Barrymore Theater in New York, after their opening in “A Gift of Time,” a drama written by Garson Kanin, who also directs. The play is based on the book, “Death of a Man.”
Olivia de Havilland, left, and Gina Lollobrigida are at a Parisian airport in April 1963.
Olivia de Havilland discusses her part in the film “Lady In A Cage” with producer Luther Lavis, left, and director Walter Grauman in Hollywood on March 26, 1963. She spends most of the movie in a home elevator. De Havilland considers this role as one of the most challenging of her career.
Olivia de Havilland stars in the motion picture “Lady in a Cage,” in which she portrays a wealthy matron trapped in her home elevator between floors during a power failure, as seen here on Feb. 28, 1963.
American actress Olivia de Havilland walks with her son Benjamin Goodrich (1949-1991) at Heathrow Airport, London, U.K, on April 16, 1963.
British film director David Lean, left, and producer Sam Spiegel pose with actress Olivia de Havilland after winning Oscars on April 8, 1963, in Santa Monica, Calif., for their contributions to the “Lawrence of Arabia.” Lean was named Best Director, and Spiegel was honored for producing the film with the award for Best Picture. De Havilland made the Oscar presentations at the 35th Academy Awards.
Actress Olivia de Havilland is shown wearing a Christian Dior suit in Feb. 1963.
From left are Andre Maurois, Olivia de Havilland and Rex Harrison, members of the XVIII International Film Festival, talking on the rooftop terrace of the festival palace on May 12, 1965, in Cannes, France.
Olivia de Havilland is at The Plaza Hotel on June 21, 1965, in New York.
Carl Reiner, left, acts as the host of “The Celebrity Game” on March 26, 1965, which will return to CBS TV starting April 8, 1965. Guest panelists are Jim Backus, Olivia de Havilland and Nick Adams in the front row. Back row panelists are Charley Weaver and Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Perfume helps two-time Academy Award-winning actress Olivia de Havilland to get into the mood for her movie roles as seen here on Jan. 22, 1965. She uses different perfumes for each type of role and sprays or dabs it on her between scenes. She claims that she gets so involved in her roles that she actually assumes some of the characteristics of the character when not working and can at times be rather curt to her family and friends which she is sure she hopes, will understand.
Olivia de Havilland holds the Silver Mask Award she received at a gala event on Oct. 4, 1968, in Rome, in recognition of her outstanding movie performances. The coveted yearly Silver Mask Awards are sponsored by the Italian Association of Entertainment critics and awarded to prominent personalities in show business, fashion and sports.
From left are Candice Bergen, Bekim Fehmiu and Olivia de Havilland taking a break in rehearsals for the film “The Adventurers” on Sept. 19, 1968, in Rome.
Aided by a doorman, British actress Olivia de Havilland leaves the Dorchester Hotel in London for a dinner date with British prime minister Edward Heath on Aug. 24, 1971.
Olivia de Havilland is on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on June 21, 1978.
Margaret Booth, Hollywood film editor, right, is presented with an honorary award for “62 years of exceptionally distinguished service to the motion picture industry as a film editor” by Olivia de Havilland at the 50th Academy Awards on April 3, 1978, in Los Angeles, Calif. Booth edited several films starring Greta Garbo, and she worked on “Mutiny on the Bounty.”
Olivia de Havilland is in the library of St. Bartholomew’s Church on Jan. 25, 1979 in New York. De Havilland is an Episcopalian, lay reader, altar guild participant and leader in a major denominational fund drive to expand projects among the needy.
Bette Davis receives an Honorary César award for her contribution to film from Olivia de Havilland on Feb. 22, 1986, in Paris.
Olivia de Havilland holds her Golden Globe Award and gets a kiss from actor Jan Niklas at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., after she won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in “Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna,” on Jan. 31, 1987. Niklas was honored for Best Supporting Actor in the same TV movie.
Olivia de Havilland is at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif. on April 11, 1988.
Olivia de Havilland, the Oscar-winning actress who rocketed to international stardom as the charitable and loving Melanie in “Gone With The Wind,” sits in the garden on April 15, 1997, at her Paris home.
Past Best Actress Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland introduces other past winners in acting categories for a group presentation during the 75th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theater on March 23, 2003, in Hollywood, California.
Former Motion Pictures Association of America president Jack Valenti poses with Hollywood legend Olivia de Havilland after an awards ceremony at the French Culture ministry on Sept. 6, 2004, in Paris. Valenti, 82, was awarded the distinction of Officer of the Legion of Honor by French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres.
Legendary actress Olivia de Havilland, the last surviving star of “Gone with the Wind,” and two-time winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress, poses for a photo on June 8, 2006, in Malibu, Calif. De Havilland will receive a rare “tribute” from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on June 15, 2006, that will feature film clips of her long career, accompanied by her own remembrances.
Screen legend Olivia de Havilland, center, and producers David Ladd, left, and Samuel Goldwyn Jr. attend the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ tribute to de Havilland at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on June 15, 2006, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Olivia de Havilland is in the East Room of the White House on Nov. 17, 2008, while being presented with the National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush.
President George W. Bush congratulates actress Olivia de Havilland before presenting her with the 2008 National Medal of Arts during an event in the East Room at the White House on Nov. 17, 2008, in Washington, D.C.
President George W. Bush talks with actress Olivia de Havilland in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 17, 2008, after presenting her with a 2008 National Medal of Arts.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, presents Japan-born British actress, Olivia de Havilland, right, with the Knight of the Legion of Honour, at the Elysee Palace on Sept. 9, 2010, in Paris.
Olivia de Havilland, left, and Jacqueline Bisset wear their medals after they were awarded the Legion of Honour by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sept. 9, 2010, at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Olivia de Havilland, center, attends the 36th Cesar Awards ceremony on Feb. 25, 2011, in Paris.
