Joan Fontaine

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

82

Gender

Female

Birthday

1917-10-22

Day of death

2013-12-15 (96 years old)

Place of Birth

Tokyo, Japan

Joan Fontaine

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.

Known For

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Hotel

    Hotel

  • Four Star Playhouse

    Four Star Playhouse

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

    The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

  • One Step Beyond

    One Step Beyond

  • Cannon

    Cannon

  • What's My Line?

    What's My Line?

  • What's My Line?

    What's My Line?

  • The 20th Century Fox Hour

    The 20th Century Fox Hour

  • The Oscars

    The Oscars

  • Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

    Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

  • Kiss the Blood Off My Hands

    Kiss the Blood Off My Hands

  • Jane Eyre

    Jane Eyre

  • A Damsel in Distress

    A Damsel in Distress

  • Suspicion

    Suspicion

  • Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood

    Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood

  • Letter to Loretta

    Letter to Loretta

  • Flight to Tangier

    Flight to Tangier

  • Man of Conquest

    Man of Conquest

  • Talking Pictures

    Talking Pictures

  • The Women

    The Women

  • Ivanhoe

    Ivanhoe

  • Rebecca

    Rebecca

  • Darling, How Could You!

    Darling, How Could You!

  • Good King Wenceslas

    Good King Wenceslas

  • The Bigamist

    The Bigamist

  • Frenchman's Creek

    Frenchman's Creek

  • The Users

    The Users

  • Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

    Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

  • Serenade

    Serenade

  • Aloha Paradise

    Aloha Paradise

  • All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story

    All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story

  • The Witches

    The Witches

  • You Gotta Stay Happy

    You Gotta Stay Happy

  • Ivy

    Ivy

  • The Constant Nymph

    The Constant Nymph

  • No More Ladies

    No More Ladies

  • The Affairs of Susan

    The Affairs of Susan

  • Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

    Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

  • Decameron Nights

    Decameron Nights

  • Something to Live For

    Something to Live For

  • September Affair

    September Affair

  • Becoming Cary Grant

    Becoming Cary Grant

  • The Bing Crosby Show

    The Bing Crosby Show

  • Until They Sail

    Until They Sail

  • Quality Street

    Quality Street

  • From This Day Forward

    From This Day Forward

  • The Duke of West Point

    The Duke of West Point

  • Othello

    Othello

  • Gunga Din

    Gunga Din

  • Music for Madame

    Music for Madame

  • The World of Hammer

    The World of Hammer

  • General Electric Theater

    General Electric Theater

  • General Electric Theater

    General Electric Theater

  • General Electric Theater

    General Electric Theater

  • General Electric Theater

    General Electric Theater

  • General Electric Theater

    General Electric Theater

  • A Million to One

    A Million to One

  • Island in the Sun

    Island in the Sun

  • Breakdowns of 1942

    Breakdowns of 1942

  • The Man Who Found Himself

    The Man Who Found Himself

  • Letter from an Unknown Woman

    Letter from an Unknown Woman

  • Crossings

    Crossings

  • Hollywood: The Selznick Years

    Hollywood: The Selznick Years

  • A Certain Smile

    A Certain Smile

  • Tender Is the Night

    Tender Is the Night

  • The Art Director

    The Art Director

  • Sky Giant

    Sky Giant

  • Born to Be Bad

    Born to Be Bad

  • You Can't Beat Love

    You Can't Beat Love

  • Maid's Night Out

    Maid's Night Out

  • This Above All

    This Above All

  • Dark Mansions

    Dark Mansions

  • Casanova's Big Night

    Casanova's Big Night

  • Songs for After a War

    Songs for After a War

  • Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock

    Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock

  • Blond Cheat

    Blond Cheat

  • Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies

    Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies

  • The Emperor Waltz

    The Emperor Waltz

  • Showbiz Ballyhoo

    Showbiz Ballyhoo