Joan Fontaine
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 22, 1917
- Died
- December 15, 2013 (aged 96)
- Birthplace
- Tokyo, Japan
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
Photos
Filmography
Becoming Cary Grant
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Talking Pictures
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Vito
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Making of 'Rebecca'
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Good King Wenceslas
Movie · as Queen Ludmilla
The World of Hammer
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Dark Mansions
Movie · as Margaret Drake
Crossings
TV · as Alexandra Markham · 3 eps
All by Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story
Movie · as Self
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Hotel
TV · 1 ep
Aloha Paradise
TV · 1 ep
The Users
Movie · as Grace St. George
The Love Boat
TV · as Jennifer Langley · 1 ep
Songs for After a War
Movie · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Film '72
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Cannon
TV · as Thelma Cain · 2 eps
The Witches
Movie · as Gwen Mayfield
The Bing Crosby Show
TV · 1 ep
The Paragon
Movie · as Alice Pemberton
Tender Is the Night
Movie · as Baby Warren
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV · as Alice Pemberton · 1 ep
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Movie · as Dr. Susan Hiller
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Movie · as Self (uncredited)
The Mike Douglas Show
TV · as Self - Co-Host · 1 ep
One Step Beyond
TV · as Ellen Grayson · 1 ep
Startime
TV · as Julie Forbes · 1 ep
A Certain Smile
Movie · as Françoise Ferrand
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
TV · 1 ep
Island in the Sun
Movie · as Mavis Norman
Until They Sail
Movie · as Anne Leslie
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Movie · as Susan Spencer
Serenade
Movie · as Kendall Hale
Tony Awards
TV · as Self - Presenter · 1 ep
The 20th Century Fox Hour
TV · 1 ep
Casanova's Big Night
Movie · as Francesca Bruni
The Bigamist
Movie · as Eve Graham
Decameron Nights
Movie · as Fiametta / Bartolomea / Ginevra / Isabella
Flight to Tangier
Movie · as Susan Lane
General Electric Theater
TV · as Countess Irene Forelli, Melanie Langdon, Laurel Chapman, Judith, Linda Stacey · 1 ep
The Oscars
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Letter to Loretta
TV · as Self - Guest Host · 1 ep
Ivanhoe
Movie · as Rowena
Something to Live For
Movie · as Jenny Carey
Four Star Playhouse
TV · as Trudy · 2 eps
Othello
Movie · as Page
Darling, How Could You!
Movie · as Alice Grey
Born to Be Bad
Movie · as Christabel
September Affair
Movie · as Manina Stuart
What's My Line?
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Art Director
Movie · as Self / Jane Eyre (archive footage) (uncredited)
Letter from an Unknown Woman
Movie · as Lisa Berndle
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
Movie · as Jane Wharton
You Gotta Stay Happy
Movie · as Dee Dee Dillwood
The Emperor Waltz
Movie · as Johanna Augusta Franziska
Ivy
Movie · as Ivy
From This Day Forward
Movie · as Susan
The Affairs of Susan
Movie · as Susan Darell
Frenchman's Creek
Movie · as Dona St. Columb
Jane Eyre
Movie · as Jane Eyre
The Constant Nymph
Movie · as Tessa Sanger
This Above All
Movie · as Prudence Cathaway
Breakdowns of 1942
Movie · as Self
Suspicion
Movie · as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth
Rebecca
Movie · as Mrs. de Winter
The Women
Movie · as Peggy Day
Gunga Din
Movie · as Emmaline "Emmy" Stebbins
Man of Conquest
Movie · as Eliza Allen
Joan Fontaine, "Rebecca" Screen Test
Movie · as Self
Joan Fontaine Wardrobe Test
Movie · as Self
Sky Giant
Movie · as Meg Lawrence
The Duke of West Point
Movie · as Ann Porter
Blond Cheat
Movie · as Julie Evans
Maid's Night Out
Movie · as Sheila Harrison
A Damsel in Distress
Movie · as Alyce Marshmorton
Quality Street
Movie · as Charlotte Parratt
Music for Madame
Movie · as Jean Clemens
You Can't Beat Love
Movie · as Trudy Olson
The Man Who Found Himself
Movie · as Doris King
A Million to One
Movie · as Joan Stevens
No More Ladies
Movie · as Caroline Rumsey