Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". She was born in Tokyo, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lucrative practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia de Havilland's recurring ailments the family moved to California in the hopes of improving their health. Mrs. de Havilland and the two girls settled in Saratoga while their father went back to his practice in Japan. Joan's parents did not get along well and divorced soon afterward. Mrs. de Havilland had a desire to be an actress but her dreams were curtailed when she married, but now she hoped to pass on her dream to Olivia and Joan.
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". She was born in Tokyo, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lucrative practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia de Havilland's recurring ailments the family moved to California in the hopes of improving their health. Mrs. de Havilland and the two girls settled in Saratoga while their father went back to his practice in Japan. Joan's parents did not get along well and divorced soon afterward. Mrs. de Havilland had a desire to be an actress but her dreams were curtailed when she married, but now she hoped to pass on her dream to Olivia and Joan.
While Olivia pursued a stage career, Joan went back to Tokyo, where she attended the American School. In 1934 she came back to California, where her sister was already making a name for herself on the stage. Joan likewise joined a theater group in San Jose and then Los Angeles to try her luck there. After moving to L.A., Joan adopted the name of Joan Burfield because she didn't want to infringe upon Olivia, who was using the family surname. She tested at MGM and gained a small role in No More Ladies (1935), but she was scarcely noticed and Joan was idle for a year and a half. During this time she roomed with Olivia, who was having much more success in films.
In 1937, this time calling herself Joan Fontaine, she landed a better role as Trudy Olson in You Can't Beat Love (1937) and then an uncredited part in Quality Street (1937). Although the next two years saw her in better roles, she still yearned for something better. In 1940 she garnered her first Academy Award nomination for Rebecca (1940). Although she thought she should have won, (she lost out to Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle (1940)), she was now an established member of the Hollywood set. She would again be Oscar-nominated for her role as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth in Suspicion (1941), and this time she won.
Joan was making one film a year but choosing her roles well. In 1942 she starred in the well-received This Above All (1942). The following year she appeared in The Constant Nymph (1943). Once again she was nominated for the Oscar, she lost out to Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (1943). By now it was safe to say she was more famous than her older sister and more fine films followed. In 1948, she accepted second billing to Bing Crosby in The Emperor Waltz (1948).
Joan took the year of 1949 off before coming back in 1950 with September Affair (1950) and Born to Be Bad (1950). In 1951 she starred in Paramount's Darling, How Could You! (1951), which turned out badly for both her and the studio and more weak productions followed. Absent from the big screen for a while, she took parts in television and dinner theaters. She also starred in many well-produced Broadway plays such as Forty Carats and The Lion in Winter. Her last appearance on the big screen was The Witches (1966) and her final appearance before the cameras was Good King Wenceslas (1994). She is, without a doubt, a lasting movie icon.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0000021
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q95076
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Filmography (Movies)
Becoming Cary Grant
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:23/05/2017
Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:07/09/2004
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:27/06/2000
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:23/01/1999
Good King Wenceslas
Character:Queen Ludmilla
Release Date:26/11/1994
Dark Mansions
Character:Margaret Drake
Release Date:23/08/1986
All by Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story
Character:Self
Release Date:10/09/1982
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:05/05/1982
The Users
Character:Grace St. George
Release Date:01/10/1978
Songs for After a War
Character:Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:09/02/1976
The Witches
Character:Gwen Mayfield
Release Date:21/11/1966
Tender Is the Night
Character:Baby Warren
Release Date:19/01/1962
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Character:Self (uncredited)
Release Date:31/12/1961
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Character:Dr. Susan Hiller
Release Date:12/07/1961
A Certain Smile
Character:Françoise Ferrand
Release Date:31/07/1958
Until They Sail
Character:Anne Leslie
Release Date:08/10/1957
Island in the Sun
Character:Mavis Norman
Release Date:12/06/1957
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Character:Susan Spencer
Release Date:13/09/1956
Serenade
Character:Kendall Hale
Release Date:23/03/1956
Casanova's Big Night
Character:Francesca Bruni
Release Date:07/04/1954
The Bigamist
Character:Eve Graham
Release Date:03/12/1953
The Girl on the Park Bench
Character:Trudy
Release Date:03/12/1953
Flight to Tangier
Character:Susan Lane
Release Date:20/11/1953
Decameron Nights
Character:Fiametta / Bartolomea / Ginevra / Isabella
Release Date:13/01/1953
Ivanhoe
Character:Rowena
Release Date:31/07/1952
Something to Live For
Character:Jenny Carey
Release Date:07/03/1952
Othello
Character:Page
Release Date:28/11/1951
Darling, How Could You!
Character:Alice Grey
Release Date:08/08/1951
September Affair
Character:Manina Stuart
Release Date:18/10/1950
Born to Be Bad
Character:Christabel Caine Carey
Release Date:28/09/1950
The Art Director
Character:Self / Jane Eyre (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:12/11/1949
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
Character:Jane Wharton
Release Date:30/10/1948
You Gotta Stay Happy
Character:Dee Dee Dillwood
Release Date:28/10/1948
The Emperor Waltz
Character:Johanna Augusta Franziska
Release Date:02/07/1948
Letter from an Unknown Woman
Character:Lisa Berndle
Release Date:28/04/1948
Ivy
Character:Ivy
Release Date:26/06/1947
From This Day Forward
Character:Susan
Release Date:02/03/1946
The Affairs of Susan
Character:Susan Darell
Release Date:08/07/1945
Frenchman's Creek
Character:Dona St. Columb
Release Date:20/09/1944
Jane Eyre
Character:Jane Eyre
Release Date:24/12/1943
The Constant Nymph
Character:Tessa Sanger
Release Date:23/06/1943
Breakdowns of 1942
Character:Self
Release Date:31/12/1942
This Above All
Character:Prudence Cathaway
Release Date:12/05/1942
Suspicion
Character:Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth
Release Date:14/11/1941
Rebecca
Character:Mrs. de Winter
Release Date:23/03/1940
The Women
Character:Peggy Day
Release Date:01/09/1939
Man of Conquest
Character:Eliza Allen
Release Date:15/05/1939
Gunga Din
Character:Emmaline "Emmy" Stebbins
Release Date:26/01/1939
The Duke of West Point
Character:Ann Porter
Release Date:29/12/1938
Sky Giant
Character:Meg Lawrence
Release Date:22/07/1938
Blond Cheat
Character:Julie Evans
Release Date:17/06/1938
Maid's Night Out
Character:Sheila Harrison
Release Date:03/03/1938
A Damsel in Distress
Character:Alyce Marshmorton
Release Date:19/11/1937
Music for Madame
Character:Jean Clemens
Release Date:08/10/1937
You Can't Beat Love
Character:Trudy Olson
Release Date:25/06/1937
The Man Who Found Himself
Character:Doris King
Release Date:02/04/1937
Quality Street
Character:Charlotte Parratt
Release Date:26/03/1937
A Million to One
Character:Joan Stevens
Release Date:31/12/1936
No More Ladies
Character:Caroline Rumsey
Release Date:14/06/1935
Television Appearances
Talking Pictures
Character:Self (archive footage)
The World of Hammer
Character:Self (archive footage)
Crossings
Character:Alexandra Markham
Hotel
Character:
Aloha Paradise
Character:
The Love Boat
Character:Jennifer Langley
Cannon
Character:
The Bing Crosby Show
Character:
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Character:Alice Pemberton
The Mike Douglas Show
Character:Self - Co-Host
One Step Beyond
Character:Ellen Grayson
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Character:
Tony Awards
Character:Self - Presenter
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Character:
Letter to Loretta
Character:Self - Guest Host
The Oscars
Character:Self
General Electric Theater
Character:Countess Irene Forelli
General Electric Theater
Character:Melanie Langdon
General Electric Theater
Character:Laurel Chapman
General Electric Theater
Character:Judith
General Electric Theater
Character:Linda Stacey
Four Star Playhouse
Character:Trudy
What's My Line?
Character:Self - Panelist
What's My Line?
Character:Self
Images
