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My Life Story

I was born in Toyko, Japan on 1st July 1916 and my sister Joan, was born the next year. When I was three, mother and father decided to divorce so I moved to Los Angeles. I attended high school and once I graduated, I decided that acting was my real passion so I enrolled in Mills College. It was there, while performing in "A Midsummers Nights Dream" that I was spotted by Mr Max Reinhardt who cast me in the Warner Bros film version in 1935. As a result, I signed a seven year contract with Warner Bros. I then appeared in three films in quick sucession, and done my first film, Captain Blood, with darling Errol. I would go on to star in eight films with him!
In 1939, I would star in the film which I am most well known for, Gone with the Wind. It was an amazing experience to film it and although I didn't win an Oscar, I still found the whole experience very fufilling.
After I finished filming Gone with the Wind, I returned to Warner Brothers and made a lot of films in a short space of time. In 1941, I played Emmy Brown which earned me an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. I didn't win it and instead, my sister Joan won it. Joan and I didn't have the best of relationships and I admit to being bitter at her winning of the Oscar.
After the Oscars, I realised that I was sick and tired of playing the sweet innocent girls and wanted new characters to play. Warner responded to this by suspending me for six months. When my contract with Warner ended, they informed me that I would have to make up for the time lost during my suspension. I was furious at this and decided to sue them. However, during the lengthy court battle, I didn't appear in any films. It proved to be worth it, and I won the court battle which resulted in the De Havilland law.
1946 turned out to be a good year as I returned to films, married Marcus Goodrich and made the film which I won Best Actress at the Oscars for, To Each to his Own.
I was nominated again in 1948 for my portrayal as a woman suffering a mental breakdown in The Snake Pit but I lost. I only made one film in 1949 as that was the year that my first child, Benjamin was born. The film was The Heiress and I won the best actress Oscar.
I took a three year break to spend time with my son and returned with My Cousin Rachel in 1952. Marcus and I divorced the following year.
I moved to Paris in the mid 1950s and married Pierre in 1955. Our daughter, Gisele was born in 1956.
I didn't really make many films after 1952, doing more work on Broadway and television.
I still reside in Paris where I am a Sunday school teacher

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"Famous people feel that they must perpetually be on the crest of the wave, not realising that it is against all the rules of life. You can't be on top all the time, it isn't natural."

"The one thing that you simply have to remember all the time that you are there, is that Hollywood is an oriental city. As long as you do that you might survive. If you try to equate it with anything else you'll perish."

"Playing good girls in the 30s was difficult, when the fad was to play bad girls. Actually I think playing bad girls is a bore; I have always had more luck with good girl roles because they require more from an actress."

[on the continuing appeal of 'Gone With the Wind'] "It will go on forever, and how thrilling that is. It has this universal life, this continuing life. Every nation has experienced war - and defeat and renaissance. So all people can identify with the characters. Not only that. It's terribly well-constructed. Something happens every three minutes and it keeps you on your toes and the edge of your seat, which is quite a feat, I must say."






ps. This is just done for fun through classicstarcafe I'm in no way related/in contact with Olivia de Havilland, nor do I believe that I am her. If you do think that I'm her then you are deluded.

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