Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland, DBE also known by her colleagues by her nickname “Livvie” is a famous British-American actress. De Havilland is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of ‘The Golden Age’ of the film industry, having starred in 49 feature films and had a hugely successful career in the decades from the 1930s to 1960s. She is best known for her performances in films like ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’, ‘Gone with the Wind’, ‘To Each His Own’, ‘The Snake Pit’, and The Heiress.
De Havilland had an active acting career until 1988 during which time she was felicitated with two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. She also received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star and was felicitated with a National Medal of Arts by President George Bush. On July 1, 2016, De Havilland celebrated her 100th birthday and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire two weeks later, becoming the oldest woman to ever receive the honour.
Early Life and Education
De Havilland was born on 1 July 1916 in Tokyo, Japan as the elder daughter of Imperial University English professor and patent attorney Walter de Havilland and British actress and singer Lilian Fontaine. She has one sibling, a younger sister, the late actress Joan Fontaine. Their parents divorced, and the sisters were raised by their mother in Saratoga, San Francisco, California. De Havilland’s mother got remarried to businessman George Milan Fontaine.
De Havilland took ballet and piano lessons as a child. She attended the Los Gatos High School, Saratoga where she participated in school plays and excelled in oratory. De Havilland then enrolled into Notre Dame Convent, Belmont to pursue a career in teaching. De Havilland’s step-father was against her pursuing acting, even while she was in school, due to which she left her home. In November 1934, De Havilland signed a 5-year contract with Warner Bros.
Career Rise
De Havilland began her acting career appearing in an amateur production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Despite being the second understudy, De Havilland portrayed Hermia in Max Reinhardt’s stage production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare and made her silver screen debut with the film adaptation of the play in 1935. De Havilland pairing with actor Errol Flynn as her leading man, became immensely popular with the duo acting together in nine films. De Havilland received great critical acclaim for her portrayals of Lady Marian Fitzwalter in ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’, Melanie Hamilton ‘Gone with the Wind’, Miss Josephine ‘Jody’ Norris in ‘To Each His Own’, Virginia Stuart Cunningham in ‘The Snake Pit’ and Catherine Sloper in ‘The Heiress’.
De Havilland continued to remain an important figure in what is now known as the ‘Golden Age’ of the film industry, appearing in films like ‘The Great Garrick’, ‘Dodge City’, ‘Anthony Adverse’, ‘Hold Back the Dawn’, ‘Light in the Piazza’ and ‘Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte’. She is also an acclaimed Broadway and TV actress having featured in Broadway productions of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Candida’ and in TV series and TV films like ‘Roots: The Next Generations’ and ‘ Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna’. De Havilland was last seen in the 2009 feature length documentary on Alzheimer’s disease titled ‘I Remember Better When I Paint’.
Olivia de Havilland – Young Pictures
Personal Life
De Havilland has been married twice. She was married to Navy veteran, author and journalist Marcus Goodrich from 1946 and divorced him in 1991. The couple became parents to a son, Benjamin Goodrich in 1949. At the age of 19, Benjamin was diagnosed of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He died of heart disease caused by Hodgkin’s disease in October 1991, three weeks before the daeath of his father.
In 1955, De Havilland got married to married to Pierre Galante, the executive editor of ‘Paris Match’, the French journal with whom moved to Paris and had a daughter named Gisèle Galante. They divorced in 1979 but remained close friends. Galante passed away after battling lung cancer in 1998.
Latest Pictures
Olivia De Havilland – Net Worth
De Havilland has an estimated net worth of approximately $20 Million.