Olivia de Havilland - cinema and life

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Olivia de Havilland was born in Tokyo (1916), worked and became famous in Hollywood, starred in television, lives in France. She received a lot of awards and prizes for her creative life, the public loved her and now follows the life of the actress, who, despite her advanced age, appears at official ceremonies.

Childhood

In 1913, a young promising English actress who came to visit her brother met in Japan with W alter Havilland, a lawyer. The couple married in New York the following year and returned to the Land of the Rising Sun. They moved into a big house in an upmarket area of Tokyo. There, Lillian, a newlywed, continued to take music, vocal and dance lessons. On July 1, 1916, the eldest daughter was born in their family. Her sister Joan was born the following year. Three years later, the parents divorced, as the husband had a tendency to cheat on his wife. In Japan, children often get sick. Mother, taking two daughters, moves to Los Angeles. She is an actress and works under a pseudonym. Olivia begins to study ballet at the age of four, and from the age of five - playing the piano. mother givesshe has diction lessons and teaches acting skills. Olivia and her sister inherited their mother's abilities in varying degrees. The girl graduates from high school and goes to Mills College in Oakland.

There, Olivia de Havilland, who is 163 cm tall, takes part in the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and attracts the attention of Max Reinhard. He invites her to the professional stage. At about fifteen years old, she makes her debut in the same play, but at the Hollywood Bowl Theater. She will get the role unexpectedly, because the performer of the role of Hermia fell ill.

Move to the movies

However, filming in films attracts a girl more. At nineteen, she signs a seven-year contract with Warner Studios. Before the ink had dried on the contract, Olivia de Havilland appeared on the screen in 1935 in three films at once: The Irish Among Us, Alibi and Captain Blood's Odyssey. In the very first year she gained a lot of experience in cinematography - she understood how the light should fall. Captain Blood's Odyssey was Olivia's first costume film. Since that time, the famous heartthrob Errol Flynn has become her constant partner for eight years. She is filmed mainly in lyrical comedies. In 1938, the picture "The Adventures of Robin Hood" was released. The film became one of the most popular adventure films of the time. After this film, Olivia becomes a movie star.

In 1939, the studio “borrows” her (the attitude towardsactress as a thing) to David Selznick for the filming of Gone with the Wind. Her femininity and aristocratic flair came to life in the role of Melanie Wilks.

Immediately a few days after the end of filming, she begins work on the film "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex." After these roles, Olivia becomes uninterested in well-bred girls who find themselves in distress. This type, with which both viewers and directors identify her, should be decisively broken, says Olivia de Havilland. The photo shows a strong-willed, sophisticated young woman who is considered the most stylish actress of the time.

She wasn't afraid to take on the mighty studio. Olivia is not removed for six months, while the contract has not yet expired. The studio believes that the contract should be extended by six months. But Olivia de Havilland files a lawsuit and, with the support of the Screen Actors Guild, wins this process. Thus, the court weakened the power of studios over film actors and turned the latter into relatively independent people who have the right to choose a creative path. This decision became known as the "de Havilland precedent".

Paramount Studio

Olivia de Havilland signs a three-movie deal. For the first picture, which is called "To each his own", she receives an Oscar in 1946. The second film, "Dark Mirror", again showed new facets of the actress's game. She was psychologically convincing in the roles of twin sisters. 1948 - Prize at the festival inVenice for his work in the film "Snake Pit". She played the role of a mentally ill woman named Virginia. The work of the actress was very realistic. She moved away from the cute charming girls she played in her youth and showed her dramatic talent. In 1949, she starred in the film "The Heiress" and received an Oscar again. In 1951, Olivia performed in Romeo and Juliet on Broadway, and a year later she was on tour with Bernard Shaw's play Candida. This show has been well received and many additional performances have taken place.

First marriage

In 1948, she met the writer Mark Goodich. He is eighteen years older than Olivia, and yet the marriage took place. They have a son, Benjamin. She rejects the offer to play in the film "A Streetcar Named Desire", explaining this by the fact that her son was born. Six years later, the couple will divorce.

Second marriage

Two years later, she marries screenwriter, playwright and editor of Pari-Match, Pierre Galante. Olivia moves to France. The couple settled in the prestigious right-bank district of Paris near the Bois de Boulogne. Now this will be her home. Her husband is seven years older than Olivia. In their marriage, a girl, Giselle, will be born. From 1962 they will live separately, but will officially divorce in 1979.

Work

Olivia announced her retirement back in the fifties. But occasionally she starred in big movies until the mid-seventies, and then moves on to television and Broadway. From 1939 to 2016, Olivia received 22 awards. It's the Oscars and the Golden Globesand a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the National Medal of Arts from President Bush, and the Legion of Honor from Nicolas Sarkozy.

Life today

Both of the actress's husbands have already died. Given her advanced age, Olivia de Havilland, whose children also died, lives in isolation, does not meet with journalists.