Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland Facts
| Sign | Cancer |
| Born |
Jul 1, 1916 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died |
Jul 25, 2020 Paris, France |
| Age | Died at 104 |
| Total Facts | 61 |
After her divorce from second husband Pierre Galante in 1979 they remained close friends, and after Galante became ill with cancer she nursed him until his death in 1998.
As of December 15 2009, the 70th anniversary of the premiere of Gone with the Wind (1939), she is the only surviving major cast member. She has been the only survivor of the four principal leads since 1967. Other surviving supporting players who received screen credit include Ann Rutherford, Mickey Kuhn, Alicia Rhett, Mary Anderson and Cammie King Conlon.
At the age of 82, was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Hertfordshire, England.
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's son, Michael Merrill, Davis's long-time personal assistant Kathryn Sermak and friends Gena Rowlands & Joan Leslie.
Attended the funeral of Charlton Heston in April, 2008.
Aunt of Debbie Dozier.
Captain Blood is the first of eight films co-starring Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn.
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.
Daughter of film and stage actress Lillian Fontaine.
De Havilland's mother, Lilian Augusta Ruse (1886–1975), was an actress known professionally as Lillian Fontaine.
Ex-sister-in-law of Collier Young, Brian Aherne and William Dozier.
Has made Paris her home since the mid 1950s.
Her cousin Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1882 - 1965) was a British aviation pioneer, aircraft designer and owner of The de Havilland Aircraft Company. Their 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.
Her father, Walter Augustus de Havilland (1872-1968), was a patent attorney in Japan and also author of the 1910 book 'The ABC of go', which provides a detailed and comprehensive description of the Japanese board game.
Her mother named her Olivia after William Shakespeare's romantic heroine in "Twelfth Night.".
Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6764 Hollywood Blvd.
In 1941, de Havilland became a naturalized citizen of the United States
In 1965, Olivia de Havilland became the first female president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 1965, she became the first female president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 1991, her son, Benjamin Briggs Goodrich, a statistical analyst, died of complications from Hodgkin's disease at his mother's home in Paris, France.
In a rare act of reconciliation, Olivia and her sister Joan Fontaine celebrated Christmas 1962 together along with their then-husbands and children.
In an interview cited on Turner Classic Movies, Olivia de Havilland claimed she knew about the reciprocal crush (between her and Errol Flynn) and further stated that Flynn proposed, though de Havilland turned down the proposal as Flynn was at the time still married to actress Lili Damita.
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 Trumbo's 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 Lidia Simoneschi. For the Italian releases of two of her most celebrated and fondly remembered roles, Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Maid Marian in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), she was dubbed, respectively, by Renata Marini and Dina Perbellini. This was the only time that either Italian actresses lent her voice to Olivia.
In the 1950s, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson, AZ, named one of their female javalinas "Olivia de Javalina" in her honor; incidentally, their male was named "Gregory Peckory" to honor actor Gregory Peck.
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.
Is mentioned in Helge Schneider's book "Die Memoiren des Rodriguez Faszanatas".
Is portrayed by Lee Purcell in My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn (1985) (TV).
Is the 15th cousin twice removed of Errol Flynn, her co-star in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).
It was reported in October 2001 that Miss de Havilland 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.)
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".
Lost her son Benjamin to Hodgkin's disease in 1991, shortly before Benjamin's father, writer Marcus Goodrich, passed away.
Ms. de Havilland lives a peaceful retirement at her home on Rue Benouville, in Paris. She spends time teaching Sunday School to children at a local church.
Older sister of actress Joan Fontaine.
Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn were known as one of Hollywood's most exciting on-screen couples, appearing in eight films together, but contrary to some rumours, were never linked romantically. The films in which they co-starred included Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood and Four's a Crowd (1938), Dodge City and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940) and They Died with Their Boots On (1941).
Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine are the first sisters to win Oscars and the first ones to be Oscar-nominated in the same year.
Olivia de Havilland declined the role of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, allegedly citing the unsavory nature of some elements of the script and saying there were certain lines she could not allow herself to speak. De Havilland denied this in a 2006 interview, saying she had recently given birth to her son when offered the role, which had been a life altering experience, and was unable to relate to the material.
Olivia de Havilland is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine.
Olivia De Havilland was offered the role of Mary Hatch Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) after Jean Arthur turned it down, but she also turned down the part. Donna Reed was cast instead and it went on to be one of her most famous performances.
Olivia de Havilland's father, Walter Augustus de Havilland (1872-1968), was a patent attorney with a practice in Japan.
Olivia de Havilland's salary for Gone With The Wind (1939) was $25,000.
Olivia's cousin was Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1882-1965), the British aviation pioneer and designer of aircraft such as the wartime Mosquito fighter.
On November 17, 2008, at the age of 92, Olivia de Havilland received the National Medal for the Arts from President Bush.
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 Shakespeare's Hermia to Margaret Mitchell's Melanie. Her independence, integrity, and grace won creative freedom for herself and her fellow film actors.".
Relations between de Havilland and younger sister Joan Fontaine were never all that 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 (1941). Despite the fact that de Havilland went on to win two Academy Awards of her own, they remained permanently estranged.
She accepted two film roles turned down by Ginger Rogers, To Each His Own (1946) and The Snake Pit (1948). Olivia won an Oscar for To Each His Own (1946) and was nominated for The Snake Pit (1948). 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".
She and Errol Flynn acted together in 9 movies: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), Dodge City (1939), Four's a Crowd (1938), Essex and Elizabeth (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) and They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
She and Joan Fontaine are the first sisters to win Oscars and the first ones to be Oscar-nominated in the same year.
She had two children (one from each of her marriages): Benjamin (1949-1991), who became a mathematician, and Gisele (b. 1956), who followed in her father's footsteps by becoming a journalist.
She has a street named after her in Mexico City. Renowned Mexican actor and director Emilio Fernández 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.