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Joan Fontaine

Actress / Penwoman / Television Actress | * 10/22/1917 († 96, 12/15/2013) | Tokyo (Japan)
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". Fontaine appeared in more than 45 films in a career that spanned five decades. She was the younger sister of actress Olivia de Havilland. Their rivalry was well-documented in the media at the height of Fontaine's career. She began her film career in 1935, signing a contract with RKO Pictures. Fontaine received her first major role in The Man Who Found Himself (1937) and in Gunga Din (1939). Her career prospects improved greatly after her starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940), for which she received her first of three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The following year, she won that award for her role in Hitchcock's Suspicion (1941). A third nomination came with ()
Photo of Joan Fontaine

Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland on October 22, 1917, 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.

Most frequent genres for this person: Drama | Romance / Love | Comedies

Known for these Movies & Shows

Awards & Nominations for Joan Fontaine

Academy Award for Best Actress Star On Hollywood Walk of Fame 3x Academy Award for Best Actress
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Movies with Joan Fontaine as Actress(58)

as Self (archive footage)2017 Becoming Cary Grant
as Self (archive footage)2004 Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock
as Self (archive footage)2000 Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies
as Self (archive footage)1999 Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
as Queen Ludmilla1994 Good King Wenceslas
as Margaret Drake1986 Dark Mansions
as Grace St. George1978 The Users
as Gwen Mayfield1966 The Witches
as Baby Warren1962 Tender Is the Night
as Self (uncredited)1961 Hollywood: The Selznick Years
as Dr. Susan Hiller1961 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
as Françoise Ferrand1958 A Certain Smile
as Anne Leslie1957 Until They Sail
as Mavis Norman1957 Island in the Sun
as Susan Spencer1956 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
as Kendall Hale1956 Serenade
as Francesca Bruni1954 Casanova's Big Night
as Eve Graham1953 The Bigamist
as Susan Lane1953 Flight to Tangier
as Fiametta / Bartolomea / Ginevra / Isabella1953 Decameron Nights
as Rowena1952 Ivanhoe
as Jenny Carey1952 Something to Live For
as Alice Grey1951 Darling, How Could You!
as Page1951 Othello
as Christabel Caine Carey1950 Born to Be Bad
as Manina Stuart1950 September Affair
as Dee Dee Dillwood1948 You Gotta Stay Happy
as Johanna Augusta Franziska1948 The Emperor Waltz
as Lisa Berndle1948 Letter from an Unknown Woman
as Jane Wharton1948 Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
as Ivy1947 Ivy
as Susan Darell1945 The Affairs of Susan
as Dona St. Columb1944 Frenchman's Creek
as Jane Eyre1943 Jane Eyre
as Tessa Sanger1943 The Constant Nymph
as Prudence Cathaway1942 This Above All
as herself1942 Breakdowns of 1942
as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth1941 Suspicion
as Mrs. de Winter1940 Rebecca
as Emmaline "Emmy" Stebbins1939 Gunga Din
as Eliza Allen1939 Man of Conquest
as Peggy Day1939 The Women
as Sheila Harrison1938 Maid's Night Out
as Ann Porter1938 The Duke of West Point
as Meg Lawrence1938 Sky Giant
as Julie Evans1938 Blond Cheat
as Charlotte Parratt1937 Quality Street
as Doris King1937 The Man Who Found Himself
as Alyce Marshmorton1937 A Damsel in Distress
as Jean Clemens1937 Music for Madame
as Trudy Olson1937 You Can't Beat Love
as Joan Stevens1937 A Million to One
as Caroline Rumsey1935 No More Ladies

TV Shows/Series with Joan Fontaine as Actress(20)

as Self (archive footage)2013 Talking Pictures
as Alexandra Markham1986 Crossings
1982 Hotel
as Jennifer Langley1977 The Love Boat
1971 Cannon
as Alice Pemberton1962 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
as Ellen Grayson1959 One Step Beyond
as Countess Irene Forelli1953 GE Theater
as Melanie Langdon1953 GE Theater
as Laurel Chapman1953 GE Theater
as Judith1953 GE Theater
as Linda Stacey1953 GE Theater
as Self - Guest Host1953 Letter to Loretta
as Trudy1952 Four Star Playhouse
as Self - Panelist1950 What's My Line?
as Self - Mystery Guest1950 What's My Line?

Full Name: Joan De Havilland
Born: Monday, 10/22 1917 (October) in Tokyo (Japan)
Died: Sunday, 12/15 2013 (December) in Carmel-by-the-Sea (aged: 96)
Zodiac sign: Libra (Chinese zodiac sign: Snake)
Languages: English (EN, native language), Japanese (JA)
Educated at: American School in Japan, Los Gatos High School, International School of the Sacred Heart
Employer: Warner Bros.
Spouses (current/former): Brian Aherne, Collier Young, William Dozier, Alfred Wright, Jr.
Children: Deborah Dozier Potter
Father: Walter Augustus de Havilland
Other names for Joan Fontaine (nicknames, foreign languages etc.):
"Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland"
Joan Fontaine frequently works together with these people:
Loretta Young (117x, Actress)
David Niven (36x, Actor)
Charles Boyer (28x, Actor)
Dick Powell (26x, Actor)
Ida Lupino (21x, Actress)
Christopher Dark (14x, Actor)
Ross Elliott (14x, Actor)
Vera Miles (13x, Actress)
Rhys Williams (13x, Actor)
Herb Vigran (13x, Actor)
Ricardo Montalban (12x, Actor)
George Stevens (8x, Crew)
WatchPlayStream ID: PEOPLE:26255, Added: 05/08/2018, Last updated: 03/20/2024