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{{short description|English-American actress (1917–2013)}}{{Use American English|date=January 2018}}{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}

factoids

Havilland| 1935| No More Ladies| Caroline “Carrie” Rumsey| Credited as Joan Burfield| The Man Who Found Himself| Nurse Doris King|| You Can’t Beat Love| Trudy Olson|| Music for Madame| Jean Clemens|| Blond Cheat| Juliette “Julie” Evans|| Sky Giant| Meg Lawrence|| The Duke of West Point| Ann Porter|| Man of Conquest| Eliza Allen|| 1940| 1941| 1942| 1944| 1945| The Affairs of Susan| Susan Darell|| 1946| From This Day Forward| Susan Cummings|| 1947| The Emperor Waltz| Countess Johanna Augusta Franziska|| You Gotta Stay Happy| Dee Dee Dillwood|| Kiss the Blood Off My Hands| Jane Wharton|| Flight to Tangier| Susan Lane|| 1954| Casanova’s Big Night| Francesca Bruni| Alternative title: Mr. Casanova| Until They Sail| Anne Leslie|| 1958| Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea| Dr. Susan Hiller|| 1962| 1966| 1978| 1986| Dark Mansions| Margaret Drake| TV movie| 1994| Good King Wenceslas| Queen Ludmilla| TV movie

1917

22}}| birth_place = Tokyo City, Empire of Japan

2013

15

10|22}}| death_place = Carmel Highlands, California, U.S.

Joan Burfield}}

United Kingdom United States (from 1943){{sfn|Weatherford|2009|p=302{edih} }}| alma_mater = American School in Japan| occupation = Actress

Democratic Party (United States)>Democratic| years_active = 1935–1994| known_for =

{{marriage|Brian Aherne|1939|1945|reason=divorced{edih} {{marriage|William Dozier|1946|1951|reason=divorced}} {{marriage|Collier Young|1952|1961|reason=divorced}} {{marriage|Alfred Wright Jr.|1964|1969|reason=divorced}} }}| children = 2| father = Walter de Havilland| mother = Lilian Fontaine

Dame Olivia de Havilland (sister) Hereward de Havilland (cousin) Geoffrey de Havilland (cousin) {edih}| awards = Academy Award for Best Actress (1941)}}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 of Hollywood. 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 The Constant Nymph (1943). She appeared mostly in drama films through the 1940s, including Letter from an Unknown Woman and the comedy You Gotta Stay Happy (both 1948), which she co-produced with her second husband William Dozier through their film production company Rampart Productions. In the next decade, after her role in Ivanhoe (1952), her film career began to decline and she moved into stage, radio and television roles. She appeared in fewer films in the 1960s, which included Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), and her final film role in The Witches (1966), also known as The Devil’s Own.She released an autobiography, No Bed of Roses, in 1978, and continued to act until 1994. Having won an Academy Award for her role in Suspicion, Fontaine is the only actress to have won an Academy Award for acting in a Hitchcock film. She and her sister remain the only siblings to have won lead-acting Academy Awards.{{TOC limit|limit=2}} Early life Joan de Beauvoir de{{nbsp}}Havilland was born on October 22, 1917, in Tokyo City, in the then Empire of Japan to English parents. Her father, Walter de Havilland (1872–1968), was educated at the University of Cambridge and served as an English professor at the Imperial University in Tokyo before becoming a patent attorney.Thomas 1983, p. 20. Her mother, Lilian Augusta Ruse de Havilland Fontaine (1886–1975),Olivia de Havilland FilmReference {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183740www.filmreference.com/film/75/Olivia-de-Havilland.html |date=March 3, 2016}}. Retrieved February 15, 2013. was educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a stage actress who left her career after going to Tokyo with her husband. Her mother returned to work with the stage name “Lillian Fontaine” after Joan and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland achieved prominence in the 1940s. Joan’s paternal cousin was Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1882–1965), an aircraft designer known for the de Havilland Mosquito,French, Philip. “Screen Legends No.73”. The Observer, Review Section, 2009. and founder of the aircraft company which bore his name. Her paternal grandfather, the Reverend Charles Richard de{{nbsp}}Havilland, was from a family from Guernsey, in the Channel Islands.Beeman 1994, p. 24.Thomson 2010, p. 339.De Havilland’s parents married in 1914 and separated in 1919 when she was two; the divorce was not finalized, however, until February 1925.BOOK, Bubbeo, Daniel,books.google.com/books?id=nmjetV92THsC&pg=PP1, The Women of Warner Brothers: The Lives and Careers of 15 Leading Ladies, with Filmographies for Each, McFarland & Company, 978-0-7864-1137-5, 2002, 55, April 1, 2014, Taking a physician’s advice, Lilian de{{nbsp}}Havilland moved Joan{{nsmdns}}reportedly a sickly child who had developed anaemia following a combined attack of the measles and a streptococcal infection{{nsmdns}}and her sister to the United States.Fontaine 1978, p. 19. The family settled in Saratoga, California, and Fontaine’s health improved dramatically during her teen years. She was educated at nearby Los Gatos High School and was soon taking diction lessons alongside Olivia. When she was 16 years old, Joan returned to Japan to live with her father. There she attended the Tokyo School for Foreign Children, graduating in 1935.“Prominent Alumni.” {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303053437community.asij.ac.jp/Page.aspx?pid=464 |date=March 3, 2012 }} The American School in Japan. Retrieved October 6, 2011. Career {{multiple image| align = right| direction = vertical| width = 220| image1 = Joan Fontaine in The Women trailer.jpg

Trailer (promotion)>Trailer for The Women (1939)| image2 = Joan Fontaine in Suspicion trailer.JPG

Cary Grant in Suspicion (1941 film)>Suspicion (1941)| image3 = Jane Eyre-Joan Fontaine-2.jpg

Jane Eyre (1943 film)>Jane Eyre (1943)}}Fontaine made her stage debut in the West Coast production of Call It a Day (1935) and made her film debut in MGM’s No More Ladies (1935) in which she was credited as Joan Burfield. She was leading lady to Bruce Bennett (billed as Herman Brix) in a low budget independent film, A Million to One (1937).Quinlan 1996, pp. 172–173. RKO Fontaine signed a contract with RKO Pictures. Her first film for the studio was Quality Street (1937) starring Katharine Hepburn, in which Fontaine had a small unbilled role.The studio considered her a rising star, and touted The Man Who Found Himself (1937) with John Beal as her first starring role, placing a special screen introduction, billed as the “new RKO screen personality” after the end credit.WEB, Fristoe, Roger,www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/82735/The-Man-Who-Found-Himself/articles.html, Articles: The Man Who Found Himself, Turner Classic Movies, October 11, 2012, April 15, 2016,www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/82735/The-Man-Who-Found-Himself/articles.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20160415162158www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/82735/The-Man-Who-Found-Himself/articles.html,">web.archive.org/web/20160415162158www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/82735/The-Man-Who-Found-Himself/articles.html, dead, Fontaine later said it had “an A budget but a Z story.“NEWS, Joan Fontaine Wins Stardom by Being Self: Has Fought Comparison With Sister, Olivia de Havilland, Since Age of 10, Lucie, Neville, The Washington Post, March 3, 1940, L1, RKO put her in You Can’t Beat Love (1937) with Preston Foster and Music for Madame (1937) with Nino Martini.She next appeared in a major role alongside Fred Astaire in his first RKO film without Ginger Rogers, A Damsel in Distress (1937).NEWS, Joan Fontaine New Lead for Astaire, August 3, 1937, The Washington Post, 14, Despite being directed by George Stevens, audiences were disappointed and the film flopped. She was top billed in the comedies Maid’s Night Out (1938) and Blond Cheat (1938) then was Richard Dix’s leading lady in Sky Giant (1938).Edward Small borrowed her to play Louis Hayward’s love interest in The Duke of West Point (1938), then Stevens used her at RKO in Gunga Din (1939) as Douglas Fairbanks Jr.’s love interest. The film was a huge hit, but Fontaine’s part was relatively small. Republic borrowed her to support Dix in Man of Conquest (1939) but her part was small. George Cukor gave her a small role in MGM’s The Women (1939). David O. Selznick and Hitchcock Fontaine’s luck changed one night at a dinner party when she found herself seated next to producer David O. Selznick. Selznick and she began discussing the Daphne du Maurier novel Rebecca, and Selznick asked her to audition for the part of the unnamed heroine. She endured a grueling six-month series of film tests along with hundreds of other actresses before securing the part sometime before her 22nd birthday.Rebecca (1940), starring Laurence Olivier alongside Fontaine, marked the American debut of British director Alfred Hitchcock. The film was released to glowing reviews, and Fontaine was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Fontaine did not win that year (Ginger Rogers took home the award for Kitty Foyle), but she did win the following year for Best Actress in Suspicion, which co-starred Cary Grant and was also directed by Hitchcock. This was the only Academy Award-winning acting performance to have been directed by Hitchcock.Booker 2011, p. 134.Fontaine was then one of the biggest female stars in Hollywood, although she was typecast in female melodrama. “They seemed to want to make me cry the whole Atlantic”, she later said. However, historically, she had become the top female star of the 1940s.20th Century Fox borrowed her to appear opposite Tyrone Power in This Above All (1942) then she went to Warner Brothers to star alongside Charles Boyer in The Constant Nymph. She was nominated for a third Academy Award for her performance in this film.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2013/12/16/arts/joan-fontaine-who-won-an-oscar-for-hitchcocks-suspicion-dies-at-96.html, Joan Fontaine, Who Won an Oscar for Hitchcock’s ‘Suspicion,’ Dies at 96, December 17, 2013, The New York Times, subscription, NEWS, Joan Fontaine to Play Role in ‘Constant Nymph’, Frank, Daugherty, April 10, 1942, The Christian Science Monitor, 15, She also starred as the titular protagonist in the film Jane Eyre that year, which was developed by Selznick then sold to Fox.During the war Fontaine occasionally worked as a nurse’s aide.NEWS, Joan Fontaine a Nurse’s Aide, December 1, 1943, The New York Times, 24,www.nytimes.com/1943/12/01/archives/joan-fontaine-a-nurses-aide.html, subscription, File:Arturo de Córdova and Joan Fontaine, Frenchman’s Creek (1944).jpg|thumb|upright|Fontaine with Arturo de Córdova in Frenchman’s Creek (1944)]]Fontaine starred in the film Frenchman’s Creek (1944). Like Rebecca, this was also based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier. Fontaine personally considered Frenchman’s Creek one of her least favorites among the films she starred in.Selznick wanted to cast her in I’ll Be Seeing You (1944) but she refused, saying she was “sick of playing the sad sack.” Selznick suspended her for eight months.NEWS, Joan Fontaine Puts Curb on Hot Temper: Joan Fontaine Goes Sweet Playing First Comedy Role, Hopper, Hedda, March 8, 1945, Los Angeles Times, B1,www.newspapers.com/image/380739297/?terms=Joan%20Fontaine%20Puts%20Curb%20on%20Hot%20Temper&match=1, subscription, Eventually she went back to work in The Affairs of Susan (1945) for Hal Wallis at Paramount, her first comedy. She returned to RKO for From This Day Forward (1946). Rampart Productions In August 1946 Fontaine set up her own company, Rampart Productions, with her then-husband William Dozier. Her contract with Selznick ended in February 1947 and Fontaine would work exclusively for Rampart apart from one film a year for RKO.NEWS, Career of Joan Fontaine Enters Upon New Phase, Hopper, Hedda, August 3, 1947, Los Angeles Times, C1,www.newspapers.com/image/380976415/?terms=Career%20of%20Joan%20Fontaine%20Enters%20Upon%20New%20Phase&match=1, subscription, NEWS, Litvak to Produce ‘Snake Pit’ for Fox: Owner of Screen Rights Will Make Picture as First of Two He Owes Company Of Local Origin,www.nytimes.com/1946/08/19/archives/litvak-to-produce-snake-pit-for-fox-owner-of-screen-rights-will.html, August 19, 1946, The New York Times, A28, Their first film was Ivy (1947), a thriller where she played an unsympathetic part.Fontaine also appeared in Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) directed by Max Ophüls, produced by John Houseman and co-starring Louis Jourdan. It was made by Rampart Productions and released through Universal. It is today considered to be a classic with one of the finest performances of her career.NEWS, Joan Fontaine Casts a Vote for Independence, Thomas M., Pryor, The New York Times, November 16, 1947, X5,www.nytimes.com/1947/11/16/archives/joan-fontaine-casts-a-vote-for-independence.html, subscription, At Paramount, she appeared opposite Bing Crosby in Billy Wilder’s The Emperor Waltz (1948) then went to Universal for another film for Rampart, You Gotta Stay Happy (1948), a comedy with James Stewart.Fontaine starred in Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, (1948), with Burt Lancaster, Nathan Juran and Bernard Herzbrun. Art directors, and set decorators recreated thirty blocks of huge sets to represent the East End of London’s waterfront district in this successful film noir. At Paramount she did September Affair (1950) with Joseph Cotten for Wallis, Darling, How Could You! (1951) and Something to Live For (1952), a third film with George Stevens. At RKO she was a femme fatale in Born to Be Bad (1950).MGM hired Fontaine to play the love interest in Ivanhoe (1952), a big success. She was reunited with Jourdan in Decameron Nights (1953) then went to Paramount for the low budget Flight to Tangier (1953) with Jack Palance. Film, TV, and theatre Fontaine made The Bigamist (1953), directed by Ida Lupino. She began appearing on TV shows such as Four Star Playhouse, Ford Theatre, Star Stage, The 20th Century Fox Hour, The Joseph Cotten Show, and General Electric Theater.She won good reviews for her role on Broadway in 1954 as Laura in Tea and Sympathy, playing the role originated by Deborah Kerr. She appeared opposite Anthony Perkins and toured the show for a few months.NEWS, Joan Fontaine Confides Her Method of Staying Slim, Lane, Lydia, April 15, 1956, Los Angeles Times, D18, She was Bob Hope’s leading lady in Casanova’s Big Night (1956) then supported Mario Lanza in Serenade (1956). She was in Fritz Lang’s Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) at RKO.Fontaine had a big hit with Island in the Sun (1957) having a romance with Harry Belafonte. At MGM she appeared with Jean Simmons and Paul Newman in Until They Sail (1957) then she made A Certain Smile (1958) at Fox. 1960s Fontaine had the female lead in the popular Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) at Fox. She had a key role in Tender Is the Night (1962) also at Fox.Most of her 1960s work was done on television or stage. TV shows included General Electric Theater, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Startime, (Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond), Checkmate, The Dick Powell Show, Kraft Television Theatre, Wagon Train, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The Bing Crosby Show.In October 1964 she returned to Broadway to appear in A Severed Head.NEWS, Joan Fontaine Gets Role,www.nytimes.com/1964/08/19/archives/joan-fontaine-gets-role.html, August 19, 1964, The New York Times, 30, subscription, She tried a Hammer horror film, The Witches (1966) which she also co-produced.Her stage work included Cactus Flower and an Austrian production of The Lion in Winter.In 1967, she appeared in Dial M for Murder in Chicago.NEWS, Joan Fontaine Prefers Comedy in Films, Clifford, Terry, April 16, 1967, Chicago Tribune,chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/376555234/?terms=joan%20fontaine%20prefers%20comedy%20films&match=1, E18, subscription, The following year she appeared in Private Lives.NEWS, Veteran Actress Doubles as Her Own Manager, Knoch, Joanne, Chicago Tribune, May 5, 1968,chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/376650719/?terms=Veteran%20Actress%20Doubles%20as%20Her%20Own%20Manager&match=1, B13, subscription, She played Forty Carats on Broadway. Later career In the 1970s Fontaine appeared in stage shows and toured with a poetry reading.NEWS, Stage Review: Poetry Gains Joan Fontaine, Christon, Lawrence, February 1, 1976, Los Angeles Times,www.newspapers.com/image/382984682/?terms=STAGE%20REVIEW%3A%20Poetry%20Gains%20Joan%20Fontaine&match=1, B7, subscription, She returned to Hollywood for the first time in 15 years in 1975 to appear in an episode of Cannon especially written for her.NEWS, Joan Fontaine Style of Maturity, Lane, Lydia, December 11, 1975, Los Angeles Times,www.newspapers.com/image/382707203/?terms=Joan%20Fontaine%20Style%20of%20Maturity&match=1, H9, subscription, She was in The Users (1978) and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the soap opera Ryan’s Hope in 1980.Fontaine published her autobiography, No Bed of Roses, in 1978.NEWS, Joan Fontaine’s Roses: Book World ‘No Bed of Roses: An Autobiography’ Morrow. 319 pp, Faiga, Levine, September 28, 1978, The Washington Post, B8, In 1982, she traveled to Berlin, Germany, and served as a jury president for the Berlin International Film Festival.NEWS, Mike, Barnes,www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/actress-joan-fontaine-dies-rebecca-suspicion-665831, Legendary Actress Joan Fontaine Dies at 96, The Hollywood Reporter, December 9, 2020, In the early 1980s, after 25 years in New York, she moved to Carmel, California. “I have no family ties anymore, so I want to work”, she said. “I still host an interview show for cable in New York. I lecture all over the country. But it wasn’t enough. My theory is that if you stay busy, you haven’t time to grow old. Or at least you don’t notice it.“She starred in Aloha Paradise, Bare Essence, and Crossings (1986).NEWS, TV highlights: Joan Fontaine joins ‘Essence’ cast, Flander, Judy, March 1, 1983, Chicago Tribune,chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/387739347/?terms=TV%20highlights%3A%20Joan%20Fontaine%20joins%20%27Essence%27%20cast&match=1, D7, subscription, She played the lead in a TV movie, Dark Crossings (1986), replacing Loretta Young. She said, “At my time in life, I don’t want to do bit parts. Also, Rosalind Russell once said, ‘Always escape the mother parts.’ And I’ve avoided them.“NEWS, Joan Fontaine to Appear in ABC Film, Stephen, Farber, The New York Times, May 6, 1985, C15,www.nytimes.com/1985/05/06/arts/joan-fontaine-to-appear-in-abc-film.html, subscription, Fontaine’s last role for television was in the 1994 TV film Good King Wenceslas, after which she retired to her estate, Villa Fontana, in Carmel Highlands, California, where she spent time in her gardens and with her dogs.NEWS, Rush, George, Joanna Molloy, Barid Jones,articles.nydailynews.com/1996-06-23/gossip/18008312_1_peterman-catalogue-blouse, A Catalogue Of Complaints For Fontaine, New York Daily News, June 23, 1996, December 8, 2012, {{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Fontaine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1645 Vine Street. She left her hand and foot prints in front of the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on 26 May 1942.She was a practicing Episcopalian and a member of Episcopal Actors Guild.WEB,littlechurch.org/about/a-brief-history, A Brief History, The Church of the Transfiguration, December 9, 2020, Sibling rivalry {{multiple image| align = right| direction = vertical| width = 220| image1 = Joan Fontaine and Gary Cooper.jpg| caption1 = Fontaine and Gary Cooper holding their Oscars at the 14th Academy Awards, 1942| image2 = Olivia de Havilland at the Academy Awards 1946.jpg

Olivia de Havilland, with her first 19th Academy Awards>Oscar award March 13, 1947}}Fontaine and her elder sister, Olivia de Havilland, are the only siblings to have won lead acting Academy Awards. Olivia was the first to become an actress; when Fontaine tried to follow her lead, their mother, who favored Olivia, refused to let Joan use the family name.{{how|date=March 2018}} Subsequently, Fontaine had to invent a name, taking first Joan Burfield. When she appeared in the play Call It a Day, she was credited as Joan Fontaine, having assumed her mother’s (Lilian Fontaine) stage name. Biographer Charles Higham records that the sisters had an uneasy relationship from early childhood, when Olivia would rip up the clothes Joan had to wear as hand-me-downs, forcing Joan to sew them back together. A large part of the friction between the sisters stemmed from Fontaine’s belief that Olivia was their mother’s favorite child.Higham 1984, p. 257.De Havilland and Fontaine were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1942. Fontaine won for her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion over de{{nbsp}}Havilland’s performance in Hold Back the Dawn. Higham states that Fontaine “felt guilty about winning given her lack of obsessive career drive ...”. Higham has described the events of the awards ceremony, stating that as Fontaine stepped forward to collect her award, she pointedly rejected de{{nbsp}}Havilland’s attempts to congratulate her and that de{{nbsp}}Havilland was both offended and embarrassed by her behaviour. Fontaine, however, tells a different story in her autobiography, explaining that she was paralyzed with surprise when she won the Academy Award, and that de{{nbsp}}Havilland insisted that she get up to accept it. “Olivia took the situation very graciously”, Fontaine wrote. “I was appalled that I’d won over my sister.“BOOK, Fontaine, Joan, 1978, No Bed of Roses: An Autobiography, New York, William Morrow, 136, 978-0-688-03344-6,archive.org/details/nobedofroses00font/page/136, Several years later, however, de{{nbsp}}Havilland apparently remembered what she perceived as a slight and exacted her own revenge by brushing past Fontaine, who was waiting with her hand extended, because de{{nbsp}}Havilland took offense at a comment Fontaine had made about de{{nbsp}}Havilland’s husband.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}Contrary to press reports, the sisters continued their relationship after the 1940s. After Fontaine’s separation from her husband in 1952, de{{nbsp}}Havilland went to her apartment in New York often, and at least once they spent Christmas together there, in 1961. They were photographed laughing together at a party for Marlene Dietrich in 1967.NEWS,www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/joan-fontaine-and-sister-olivia-de-havilland-during-marlene-news-photo/105274140/, Marlene Dietrich’s Opening Party, September 9, 1967, Ron, Galella, Getty Images, Fontaine also visited de{{nbsp}}Havilland in Paris in 1969.NEWS,www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/joan-fontaine-olivia-de-havilland-666087?page=2, Joan Fontaine-Olivia de Havilland Feud: New Details Revealed, The Hollywood Reporter, December 17, 2013, Scott, Feinberg, December 9, 2020, The sisters reportedly did not completely stop speaking to each other until 1975, after their mother’s funeral, to which Joan, who was out of the country, was not invited.Both sisters largely refused to comment publicly about their relationship. In a 1978 interview, however, Fontaine said of the sibling rivalry, “I married first, won the Oscar before Olivia did, and if I die first, she’ll undoubtedly be livid because I beat her to it!“NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joan-fontaine-academy-award-winning-actress-from-the-1940s-dies-at-96/2013/12/15/807d78e4-c5da-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html, Joan Fontaine, Academy Award-winning actress from the 1940s, dies at 96, The Washington Post, December 16, 2013, December 9, 2020, A year earlier, she had told the Hollywood Reporter, “I married first, won the Oscar before Olivia did, and if I die first, she’ll undoubtedly be livid because I beat her to it!”, The following year, in a 1979 interview, Fontaine claimed the reason her sister and she stopped speaking to each other was that de{{nbsp}}Havilland wanted their mother (who was suffering from cancer) to be treated surgically at the advanced age of 88, which Fontaine apparently did not think was a good idea. Fontaine claims that after their mother died, de{{nbsp}}Havilland did not bother to try to find where Fontaine could be reached (Fontaine was on tour in a play). Instead, de{{nbsp}}Havilland sent a telegram, which did not arrive until two weeks later at Fontaine’s next stop.{{YouTube|m9f7gjHkR9M|“RetroBites: Joan Fontaine – Sisters (1979)“}}, December 2, 2010. According to Fontaine, de{{nbsp}}Havilland did not invite her to a memorial service for their mother. De{{nbsp}}Havilland claims she informed Fontaine, but Fontaine brushed her off, claiming she was too busy to attend. Higham records that Fontaine had an estranged relationship with her own daughters, as well, possibly because she discovered that they were secretly maintaining a relationship with de{{nbsp}}Havilland. Personal life Fontaine held dual citizenship; she was British by birthright (both her parents were British) and became an American citizen in April 1943.NEWS,news.google.com/newspapers?id=C2pIAAAAIBAJ&pg=5675,4049662, Joan Fontaine To Seek Divorce, The Evening Independent, St. Petersburg, Fla, Associated Press, March 28, 1944, 9, December 9, 2020, 37, 124, {{sfn|Weatherford|page=302|2009}} Outside of acting, Fontaine was also noted as being a licensed pilot, an accomplished interior decorator, and a Cordon Bleu–level chef.She was married and divorced four times. Her first marriage was to actor Brian Aherne, in 1939, at the St. John’s Chapel in Del Monte, California;NEWS, Aherne Weds Joan Fontaine, The New York Times, August 21, 1939,www.nytimes.com/1939/08/21/archives/aherne-weds-joan-fontaine.html, 14, subscription, they divorced in April 1945.NEWS,news.google.com/newspapers?id=LaFPAAAAIBAJ&pg=7195,5838627, Joan Fontaine, A Guest No More, Wins Freedom, Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg Times, June 3, 1944, 5, December 8, 2012, In May 1946, she married actor/producer William Dozier in Mexico City. They had a daughter, Deborah Leslie, in 1948, and separated in 1949. Deborah is Fontaine’s only biological child.NEWS,news.google.com/newspapers?id=qHMoAAAAIBAJ&pg=4508,368073, Joan Fontaine And Husband Separate, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach Morning Journal, August 4, 1949, 14, Associated Press, December 8, 2012, The following year, Fontaine filed for divorce, charging Dozier with desertion. Their divorce was final in January 1951.NEWS, Joan Fontaine Sues Producer for Divorce,www.newspapers.com/image/385526381/?terms=Joan%20Fontaine%20Sues%20Producer%20for%20Divorce&match=1, Los Angeles Times, November 9, 1950, 2, December 9, 2020, subscription, The two of them had a custody battle over their child which lingered through the 1950s.NEWS, Joan Fontaine, Ex-Mate Drop Custody Battle,www.newspapers.com/image/381167535/?terms=JOAN%20FONTAINE%20EX-MATE%20DROP%20CUSTODY%20BATTLE&match=1, April 22, 1952, Los Angeles Times, 5, subscription, NEWS, Court Clears Joan Fontaine of Contempt, November 8, 1958, Los Angeles Times,www.newspapers.com/image/381320726/?terms=Court%20Clears%20Joan%20Fontaine%20of%20Contempt&match=1, subscription, B1, Fontaine’s third marriage was to producer and writer Collier Young on November 12, 1952. They separated in May 1960, and Fontaine filed for divorce in November 1960.NEWS,news.google.com/newspapers?id=MYBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=4341,2095247, Joan Fontaine Sues 3rd Mate For Divorce, Star-Banner, Ocala Star-Banner, November 6, 1960, 3, December 8, 2012, Their divorce was final in January 1961.NEWS, Joan Fontaine Gets Divorce, The New York Times, January 4, 1961,www.nytimes.com/1961/01/04/archives/joan-fontaine-gets-divorce.html, subscription, Fontaine’s fourth and final marriage was to Sports Illustrated golf editor Alfred Wright, Jr, on January 23, 1964, in Elkton, Maryland; they divorced in 1969.NEWS,news.google.com/newspapers?id=KGQhAAAAIBAJ&pg=868,3953047, Names In The News, Tri-City Herald, January 24, 1964, 7, December 8, 2012, {{dead link|date=December 2020}} Fontaine also had a personal relationship with Adlai Stevenson: “We had a tenderness for each other that grew into something rather serious. There was so much speculation about our marrying in the press that over lunch at his apartment in the Waldorf Towers he told me he could not marry an actress. He still had political ambitions and the ‘little old ladies from Oshkosh’ wouldn’t approve. I told him it was just as well. My family would hardly approve of my marrying a politician”.JOURNAL,people.com/archive/in-no-bed-of-roses-joan-fontaine-talks-about-the-thorns-in-her-life-vol-10-no-21/, In No Bed of Roses, Joan Fontaine Talks About the Thorns in Her Life, Christopher P., Andersen, November 20, 1978, People (magazine), People, Fontaine had an affair with actor and producer John Houseman after her marriage to Aherne. “Ours was what was known in Hollywood as a ‘romance,’ – which meant that we slept together three or four nights a week, got invited to parties together, went away together for weekends and sometimes talked about getting married without really meaning it,” Houseman wrote in Front and Center, his second autobiography.JOURNAL,www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/10/07/john-housemans-done-it-all-and-in-good-company/55c3b208-1cbf-46c4-a66c-17dec2a78424/, John Houseman’s Done It All -- And In Good Company, James, Lardner, October 7, 1979, The Washington Post, While in South America for a film festival in 1951, Fontaine met a four-year-old Peruvian girl named Martita, and informally adopted her.NEWS,news.google.com/newspapers?id=CG1QAAAAIBAJ&pg=6204,366026, Joan Fontaine Describes How She Adopted Inca Girl, Earl, Wilson, Earl Wilson (columnist), New York Post, Milwaukee Sentinel, July 11, 1954, 9, December 8, 2012, {{dead link| date=December 2020}}NEWS, Joan Fontaine Is a New Woman, Parsons, Louella, September 4, 1961, The Washington Post, B22, Fontaine met Martita while visiting Incan ruins where Martita’s father worked as a caretaker. Martita’s parents allowed Fontaine to become Martita’s legal guardian to give the child a better life. Fontaine promised Martita’s parents she would send the girl back to Peru to visit when she was 16 years old. When Martita turned 16, Fontaine bought her a round-trip ticket to Peru, but Martita refused to go and opted to run away. Fontaine and Martita became estranged following the incident. While promoting her autobiography in 1978, Fontaine addressed the issue, stating, “Until my adopted daughter goes back to see her parents, she’s not welcome. I promised her parents. I do not forgive somebody who makes me break my word.“NEWS, Flander, Judy,news.google.com/newspapers?id=Fg5SAAAAIBAJ&pg=4175,7351434, Former Movie Queen Joan Fontaine Turns Author at 60, Times-Union, Warsaw, Ind, Washington Star, September 30, 1978, 7, December 8, 2012, On December 15, 2013, Fontaine died in her sleep of natural causes at the age of 96 in her Carmel Highlands home. Her longtime friend Noel Beutel said, “She had been fading in recent days and died peacefully.“NEWS,www.montereyherald.com/general-news/20131215/oscar-winner-joan-fontaine-dies-at-96-mdash-lived-in-carmel-highlands, Oscar winner Joan Fontaine dies at 96 – lived in Carmel Highlands, The Monterey County Herald, Monterey Herald, December 15, 2015, April 13, 2015, After Fontaine’s death, Olivia de{{nbsp}}Havilland released a statement saying she was “shocked and saddened” by the news.NEWS,www.cbsnews.com/news/olivia-de-havilland-shocked-and-saddened-by-sister-joan-fontaines-death/, Olivia de Havilland ‘shocked and saddened’ by sister Joan Fontaine’s death, CBS News, December 16, 2013, December 17, 2013, Fontaine’s Academy Award for Best Actress in Suspicion was initially to be sold at an animal rights auction; however, the academy threatened to sue since it was not offered back to them for $1 and Fontaine’s estate retained possession.NEWS, Dispute derails auction of Joan Fontaine’s Oscar, December 12, 2014,www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30449808, BBC News, December 9, 2020, Fontaine converted to Christianity in 1972 after a bleak period.WEB,guideposts.org/positive-living/entertainment/movies-and-tv/guideposts-classics-joan-fontaine-on-finding-a-church-home/, Guideposts Classics: Joan Fontaine on Finding a Church Home, December 16, 2013, Filmography {| class“wikitable sortable” ! Year! Title! Role! class=“unsortable” | Notes

1937

A Million to One (film)>A Million to One| Joan Stevens|

Quality Street (1937 film)>Quality Street| Charlotte Parratt| Uncredited

A Damsel in Distress (1937 film)>A Damsel in Distress| Lady Alyce Marshmorton|

1938| Maid’s Night Out| Sheila Harrison|

1939

Gunga Din (film)>Gunga Din| Emmy|

The Women (1939 film)>The Women| Mrs. John Day (Peggy)|

Rebecca (1940 film)>Rebecca| The second Mrs. de Winter| Directed by Alfred HitchcockNominated – Academy Award for Best ActressNominated – New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress

Suspicion (1941 film)>Suspicion| Lina| Directed by Alfred HitchcockAcademy Award for Best ActressNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress

This Above All (film)>This Above All| Prudence Cathaway|

1943

The Constant Nymph (1943 film)>The Constant Nymph| Tessa Sanger| Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress

Jane Eyre (1943 film)>Jane Eyre| Jane Eyre (as an adult)|

Frenchman’s Creek (film)>Frenchman’s Creek| Dona St. Columb|

Ivy (1947 film)>Ivy| Ivy|

1948

Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948 film)>Letter from an Unknown Woman| Lisa Berndle|

1950| September Affair| Marianne “Manina” Stuart|

Born to Be Bad (1950 film)>Born to Be Bad| Christabel Caine Carey|

1951| Darling, How Could You!| Alice Grey|

Othello (1951 film)>Othello| Page| Uncredited Cameo

1952

Something to Live For (film)>Something to Live For| Jenny Carey|

Ivanhoe (1952 film)>Ivanhoe| Rowena|

1953| Decameron Nights| Fiametta/Bartolomea/Ginevra/Isabella|

The Bigamist (1953 film)>The Bigamist| Eve Graham|

1956

Serenade (1956 film)>Serenade| Kendall Hale|

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956 film)>Beyond a Reasonable Doubt| Susan Spencer|

1957

Island in the Sun (film)>Island in the Sun| Mavis Norman|

A Certain Smile (film)>A Certain Smile| Françoise Ferrand|

1961| The Light That Failed| Hostess| TV movie

Tender Is the Night (film)>Tender Is the Night| Baby Warren|

The Witches (1966 film)>The Witches| Gwen Mayfield| Alternative title: The Devil’s Own

The Users (film)>The Users| Grace St. George| TV movie

Television credits{| class“wikitable sortable”

! Year! Title! Role! class=“unsortable” | Episode(s)| 1953–1954| Four Star Playhouse| Trudy| “Trudy“”The Girl on the Park Bench”| 1956Ford Theatre#Television>The Ford Television Theatre| Julie| “Your Other Love”| 1956| Star Stage| | “The Shadowy Third”| 1956| The 20th Century Fox Hour| Lynne Abbott| “Stranger In the Night”| 1956–1957| The Joseph Cotten Show| Adrienne| “Fatal Charm“”The De Santre Story”| 1956–1960| General Electric Theater| Linda StaceyJudithLaurel ChapmanMelanie LangdonCountess Irene Forelli| “A Possibility of Oil“”The Story of Judith“”At Miss Minner’s“”The Victorian Chaise Lounge“”In Summer Promise”| 1957| Mr. Adams and Eve| Herself| “Joan Fontaine”| 1959| Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse| Margaret Lewis| “Perilous”| 1960Startime (1959 TV series)>Startime| Julie Forbes| “Closed Set”| 1960| (Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond)| Ellen Grayson| “The Visitor”| 1961Checkmate (American TV series)>Checkmate| Karen Lawson| “Voyage Into Fear”| 1962| The Dick Powell Show| Valerie Baumer| “The Clocks”| 1962Kraft Television Theatre>Kraft Mystery Theatre| Margaret Lewis| “Perilous”| 1963| Wagon Train| Naomi Kaylor| “The Naomi Kaylor Story”| 1963Alfred Hitchcock Presents>The Alfred Hitchcock Hour| Alice Pemberton| Season 1 Episode 20: “The Paragon”| 1965The Bing Crosby Show (1964 TV series)>The Bing Crosby Show| Mrs. Taylor| “Operation Man Save”| 1975Cannon (TV series)>Cannon| Thelma Cain| episode: “The Star”| 1980| Ryan’s Hope| Paige WilliamsDaytime Emmy Award 7th Daytime Emmy Awards#Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Daytime Drama Series>Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Daytime Drama Series| 1981| Aloha Paradise| “Love Teacher/The Actress/Prodigy“”Turn Me On/Treasure Hunt/A Child Will Become Father”| 1981| The Love Boat| Jennifer Langley| “Chef’s Special/Beginning Anew/Kleinschmidt”| 1983| Bare Essence| Laura| “Hour Four“”Hour Five”| 1986Hotel (U.S. TV series)>Hotel| Ruth Easton| “Harassed”| 1986Crossings (TV miniseries)>Crossings| Alexandra Markham| Miniseries“>

Broadway credits {| class“wikitable sortable”

! Date! Production! Role| September 30, 1953 – June 18, 1955Tea and Sympathy (play)>Tea and Sympathy| Laura Reynolds| December 26, 1968 – November 7, 1970| Forty Carats| Ann Stanley“>

Radio appearances {| class“wikitable”

! Year !! Program !! Episode/sourceThe Screen Guild Theater >Waterloo Bridge (1940 film)>Waterloo Bridge|1943|The Screen Guild TheaterSuspicion (1941 film)>Suspicion{{Citationurl=http://archive.org/details/ScreenGuildTheater|access-date=2022-02-09}}|1943|The Screen Guild TheaterRebecca (1940 film)>Rebecca|1944|The Screen Guild Theater|A Farewell to Arms|1945|The Screen Guild Theater|Next Time We Love|1946|The Screen Guild Theater|Last of Mrs. CheyneyLux Radio Theatre >From This Day ForwardLRT GUEST NEWSPAPER=HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH PAGE=21 ACCESS-DATE=SEPTEMBER 29, 2015, Academy Award (radio)>Academy Award Portrait of JennieJOAN FONTAINE HEARD WEDNESDAY IN “OSCAR” ROLE> URL=HTTPS://WWW.NEWSPAPERS.COM/CLIP/3212130/HARRISBURG_TELEGRAPH/ DATE=NOVEMBER 30, 1946 VIA=NEWSPAPERS.COM, September 12, 2015, Hollywood Players>The Constant Nymph (1943 film)>The Constant NymphNYMPH> URL=HTTPS://WWW.NEWSPAPERS.COM/CLIP/3206289/HARRISBURG_TELEGRAPH/ DATE=DECEMBER 14, 1946 VIA=NEWSPAPERS.COM, September 11, 2015, |1948|The Screen Guild TheaterIvy (1947 film)>IvySuspense>The LovebirdsHTTP://STARSONSUSPENSE.LIBSYN.COM/EPISODE-45-JOAN-FONTAINE WEBSITE=STARS ON SUSPENSE (OLD TIME RADIO), |1950|The Screen Guild Theater|NinotchkaHallmark Playhouse >Miracle on the BlotterKIRBYTITLE=BETTER RADIO PROGRAMS FOR THE WEEK NEWSPAPER=THE DECATUR DAILY REVIEW PAGE=52 ACCESS-DATE=JUNE 14, 2015, Broadway Playhouse>| Manhattan SerenadeThe United States Steel Hour#Theatre Guild on the Air>Theatre Guild on the Air The House of MirthKIRBY> FIRST1=WALTER URL=HTTPS://WWW.NEWSPAPERS.COM/CLIP/2591748/THE_DECATUR_DAILY_REVIEW/ DATE=DECEMBER 14, 1952, 54, Hollywood Sound Stage >IvyKIRBY TITLE=BETTER RADIO PROGRAMS FOR THE WEEK NEWSPAPER=THE DECATUR DAILY REVIEW PAGE=42 ACCESS-DATE=MAY 23, 2015, Theater of Stars >The GuardsmanKIRBY TITLE=BETTER RADIO PROGRAMS FOR THE WEEK NEWSPAPER=THE DECATUR DAILY REVIEW PAGE=40 ACCESS-DATE=JUNE 23, 2015, Lux Summer Theatre >Leave Her to HeavenHTTPS://NEWS.GOOGLE.COM/NEWSPAPERS?ID=UEXEAAAAIBAJ&PG=874%2C2308663&Q=LEAVE+HEAVEN+SUMMER+JOAN+FONTAINE+STELLAR+ROLE FIRST=NANCY PAGE=7 DATE=1953-08-10, 2023-03-18, Lux Radio Theatre >Undercurrent (1946 film)>UndercurrentKIRBY> FIRST1=WALTER URL=HTTPS://WWW.NEWSPAPERS.COM/CLIP/2770472/THE_DECATUR_DAILY_REVIEW/ DATE=NOVEMBER 29, 1953 VIA=NEWSPAPERS.COM, July 14, 2015, General Electric Theater >| Enchanted CottageLux Radio Theatre >The President’s LadyHTTPS://NEWS.GOOGLE.COM/NEWSPAPERS?ID=MUYEAAAAIBAJ&PG=5000%2C8844171&Q=PRESIDENT’S+LADY+JOAN+FONTAINE+CHARLTON+HESTON TITLE=FEATURES NEWSPAPER=THE PITTSBURGH PRESS ACCESS-DATE=2023-03-18, Gunsmoke >| The Handcuffs“>

Awards and nominations {|class“wikitable sortable”

! Award! Year! Category! Title of work! ResultAcademy Award|1940Best ActressRebecca (1940 film)>Rebecca| {{nom}}|1942Suspicion (1941 film)>Suspicion| {{won}}|1943The Constant Nymph (1943 film)>The Constant Nymph| {{nom}}NYFCC Award|1940Best Actress| Rebecca| {{nom}}| 1941| Suspicion| {{won}}| Golden Apple Award|1947| Most Cooperative Actress|{{NA}}| {{won}}| Daytime Emmy Award|19807th Daytime Emmy Awards#Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Daytime Drama Series>Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Daytime Drama Series| Ryan’s Hope| {{nom}}

References

Notes

{{Reflist|30em}}

Bibliography

• BOOK, Beeman, Marsha Lynn, Joan Fontaine: A Bio-Bibliography, Westport, Conn, Greenwood, 1994,books.google.com/books?id=EVVZAAAAMAAJ&q=Joan+Fontaine:+A+Bio-Bibliography, 978-0-313-28409-0,
• BOOK, Booker, M. Keith, Historical Dictionary of American Cinema, Lanham, Maryland, Scarecrow Press, 2011,books.google.com/books?id=Y04MQEgHbZsC&q=fontaine, 134, 978-0-8108-7459-6,
• BOOK, Joan Fontaine, Current Biography 1944, New York, H.W. Wilson Company, 1945,
• BOOK, Fontaine, Joan, No Bed of Roses: An Autobiography, New York, William Morrow, 1978,archive.org/details/nobedofroses00font/page/n5/mode/2up, 978-0-688-03344-6, registration,
• BOOK, Higham, Charles, Sisters: The Story of Olivia De Havilland and Joan Fontaine, New York, Coward McCann, 1984, 978-0-698-11268-1,archive.org/details/sistersstoryofol00high, registration,

• BOOK, Quinlan, David, Quinlan’s Film Stars, London, B.T. Batsford Ltd,archive.org/details/quinlansillustra0000quin_z6e6/page/172/mode/2up?q=fontaine, 1996, 172, 978-0-7134-7751-1,
• BOOK, Weatherford, Doris, American Women During World War II: An Encyclopedia, New York, Routledge,books.google.com/books?id=uzmMAgAAQBAJ&q=fontaine, 2009, 978-0-415-99475-0,

External links

{{Commons}}

• {{IMDb name|0000021}}
• {{TCMDb name | 63647%7C83603 }}
• {{IBDB name}}
• Joan Fontaine at TVGuide.com
• Photographs of Joan Fontaine
• Joan Fontaine at the CinéArtistes {{in lang|fr}}

{{Navboxes|title = Awards for Joan Fontaine|list ={{AcademyAwardBestActress 1941–1960}}{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress}}}}{{Berlin International Film Festival jury presidents}}{{Authority control}}