Biography
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.
Filmography
all 84
Movies 61
TV Shows 23
self 21
The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland (2021)
Becoming Cary Grant (2017)
Talking Pictures (2013)
Locked in the Tower: The Men Behind 'Jane Eyre' (2007)
Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock (2004)
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies (2000)
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood (1999)
Good King Wenceslas (1994)
Talking Pictures (1988)
Dark Mansions (1986)
Crossings (1986)
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1985)
James Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate (1984)
All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story (1982)
Hotel (1982)
Aloha Paradise (1981)
The Users (1978)
The Love Boat (1977)
Cannon (1971)
You're Putting Me On (1969)
Personality (1967)
The Witches (1966)
Eye Guess (1966)
The Bing Crosby Show (1964)
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962)
Tender Is the Night (1962)
Hollywood: The Selznick Years (1961)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
The Light That Failed (1961)
One Step Beyond (1959)
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958)
A Certain Smile (1958)
Until They Sail (1957)
Island in the Sun (1957)
To Tell the Truth (1956)
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
Tony Awards (1956)
Serenade (1956)
The 20th Century Fox Hour (1955)
Casanova's Big Night (1954)
The Bigamist (1953)
Flight to Tangier (1953)
Letter to Loretta (1953)
The Oscars (1953)
General Electric Theater (1953)
Decameron Nights (1953)
Four Star Playhouse (1952)
Ivanhoe (1952)
Something to Live For (1952)
Othello (1951)
Darling, How Could You! (1951)
September Affair (1950)
Born to Be Bad (1950)
What's My Line? (1950)
The Art Director (1949)
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
The Emperor Waltz (1948)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
Ivy (1947)
From This Day Forward (1946)
The Affairs of Susan (1945)
Frenchman's Creek (1944)
Jane Eyre (1943)
The Constant Nymph (1943)
Breakdowns of 1942 (1942)
This Above All (1942)
Suspicion (1941)
Rebecca (1940)
The Women (1939)
Man of Conquest (1939)
Gunga Din (1939)
The Duke of West Point (1938)
Sky Giant (1938)
Blond Cheat (1938)
Maid's Night Out (1938)
A Damsel in Distress (1937)
Music for Madame (1937)
You Can't Beat Love (1937)
The Man Who Found Himself (1937)
Quality Street (1937)
A Million to One (1936)
No More Ladies (1935)
Get the Message
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderFemale
Birthday1917-10-22
Deathday2013-12-15 (96 years old)
Birth PlaceTokyo, Japan
Height
RelationshipsWilliam Dozier (1946-05-02 - 1951-01-01), Alfred Wright, Jr. (1964-01-01 - 1969-01-01), Brian Aherne (1939-08-21 - 1945-01-01), Collier Young (1952-11-12 - 1961-01-01)
ChildrenDeborah Dozier Potter
FatherWalter Augustus de Havilland
MotherLilian Fontaine
SiblingsOlivia de Havilland
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom, United States of America
Also Known AsJoan de Beauvoir de Havilland, Joan Burfield
Awardsstar on Hollywood Walk of Fame, Academy Award for Best Actress
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
- Joan Fontaine
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