De Havilland, Olivia (1916–)

English-born actress. Born Olivia Mary de Havilland, July 1, 1916, in Tokyo, Japan; dau. of Walter and Lillian (Ruse) de Havilland (both British); sister of actress Joan Fontaine (b. 1917); m. Marcus Goodrich (novelist), 1946 (div.); m. Pierre Galante (editor of Paris-Match), 1955 (sep.); children: (1st m.) Benjamin; (2nd m.) Gisele.

Made film debut in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935); early roles encompassed a series of demure heroines in films dominated by the studio's top male stars, among them Errol Flynn, with whom she was cast in a number of romantic adventures; won critical acclaim for performance in Anthony Adverse (1936); appeared as Melanie in Gone with the Wind (1939) and was nominated for an Academy Award; also nominated for her work in Hold Back the Dawn (1941); cast in a series of remakes (Raffles and Saturday's Children) and in a supporting role in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, brought suit against Warner's for release from her contract, a fight that made it to the Supreme Court of California and resulted in a landmark decision that led to the demise of the repressive studio system (1945); won 1st Oscar as Best Actress for To Each His Own (1946); career peaked with portrayal of a mental patient in The Snake Pit (1948), which is often considered her most developed role; won her 2nd Oscar for The Heiress (1949) and a Golden Globe for tv portrayal of the Dowager empress in "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna"; other films include Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Dodge City (1939), They Died with Their Boots On (1941), The Male Animal (1942), In This Our Life (1942), Devotion (1946), My Cousin Rachel (1953), Not As a Stranger (1955), The Light in the Piazza (1962), Lady in a Cage (1964), Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (1965) and The Swarm (1978).

See also memoir Every Frenchman Has One (1961); Charles Higham, Sisters: The Story of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine; and Women in World History.