Joan Fontaine
Birthday:
22 October 1917, Tokyo, Japan
Birth Name:
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland
Height:
161 cm
Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland on October 22, 1917, 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....
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Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland on October 22, 1917, 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. Show less «
Marriage, as an institution, is as dead as the dodo bird.
Marriage, as an institution, is as dead as the dodo bird.
If you keep marrying as I do, you learn everybody's hobby.
If you keep marrying as I do, you learn everybody's hobby.
I married first, won the Oscar before Olivia [sister Olivia de Havilland] did, and if I die first, she'll undoubtedly be livid because I bea...Show more »
I married first, won the Oscar before Olivia [sister Olivia de Havilland] did, and if I die first, she'll undoubtedly be livid because I beat her to it! Show less «
[Before the failure of her first marriage] Too many Hollywood marriages have smashed up because husbands were Mr. Joan Fontaine. That will n...Show more »
[Before the failure of her first marriage] Too many Hollywood marriages have smashed up because husbands were Mr. Joan Fontaine. That will never happen in our marriage because I am 100% Mrs. Brian Aherne. Show less «
[on working with Orson Welles on Jane Eyre (1943)] You can not battle an elephant. Orson was such a big man in every way that no one could s...Show more »
[on working with Orson Welles on Jane Eyre (1943)] You can not battle an elephant. Orson was such a big man in every way that no one could stand up to him. On the first day at 4 o'clock, he strode in followed by his agent, a dwarf, his valet and a whole entourage. Approaching us, he proclaimed, "All right, everybody turn to page eight." And we did it, though he was not the director. Show less «
[on Charles Boyer] Charles Boyer remains my favorite leading man. I found him a man of intellect, taste and discernment. He was unselfish, d...Show more »
[on Charles Boyer] Charles Boyer remains my favorite leading man. I found him a man of intellect, taste and discernment. He was unselfish, dedicated to his work. Above all, he cared about the quality of the film he was making, and unlike most leading men I have worked with, the single exception being Fred Astaire, his first concern was the film, not himself. Show less «
[on Olivia de Havilland] We're getting closer together as we get older, but there would be a slight problem of temperament. In fact, it woul...Show more »
[on Olivia de Havilland] We're getting closer together as we get older, but there would be a slight problem of temperament. In fact, it would be bigger than Hiroshima. Show less «
[on working with director George Cukor on The Women (1939)] I learned about acting from George than anyone else and through just one sentenc...Show more »
[on working with director George Cukor on The Women (1939)] I learned about acting from George than anyone else and through just one sentence. He said, "Think and feel and the rest will take care of itself." Show less «
I hope I'll die on stage at the age at 105, playing Peter Pan.
I hope I'll die on stage at the age at 105, playing Peter Pan.
[on Olivia de Havilland] My sister is a very peculiar lady. When we were young, I wasn't allowed to talk to her friends. Now, I'm not allowe...Show more »
[on Olivia de Havilland] My sister is a very peculiar lady. When we were young, I wasn't allowed to talk to her friends. Now, I'm not allowed to talk to her children, nor are they permitted to see me. This is the nature of the lady. Doesn't bother me at all. Show less «
You know, I've had a helluva life. Not just the acting part. I've flown in an international balloon race. I've piloted my own plane. I've ri...Show more »
You know, I've had a helluva life. Not just the acting part. I've flown in an international balloon race. I've piloted my own plane. I've ridden to the hounds. I've done a lot of exciting things. Show less «
I made about seven tests for Rebecca (1940). Everybody tested for it. Loretta Young, Margaret Sullavan, Vivien Leigh, Susan Hayward, Anne Ba...Show more »
I made about seven tests for Rebecca (1940). Everybody tested for it. Loretta Young, Margaret Sullavan, Vivien Leigh, Susan Hayward, Anne Baxter, you name her. Supposedly, [Alfred Hitchcock] saw one of my tests and said, "This is the only one". I think the word he used to describe what set me apart was "vulnerability". Also, I was not very well-known and producer David O. Selznick saw the chance for star-budding. And may I say he also saw the chance to put me under contract for serf's wages. Show less «
[on beating sister Olivia de Havilland for the Oscar] I froze. I stared across the table, where Olivia was sitting. "Get up there!" she whis...Show more »
[on beating sister Olivia de Havilland for the Oscar] I froze. I stared across the table, where Olivia was sitting. "Get up there!" she whispered commandingly. Now what had I done? All the animus we'd felt towards each other as children, the savage wrestling matches, the time Olivia fractured my collarbone, all came rushing back in kaleidoscopic imagery. Show less «
[in 1978, about sister Olivia de Havilland] Olivia has always said I was first at everything. If I die, she'll be furious because, again, I'...Show more »
[in 1978, about sister Olivia de Havilland] Olivia has always said I was first at everything. If I die, she'll be furious because, again, I'll have got there first. Show less «
[in 1978, on marriage] The main problem in marriage is that, for a man, sex is a hunger-like eating. If a man is hungry and can't get to a f...Show more »
[in 1978, on marriage] The main problem in marriage is that, for a man, sex is a hunger-like eating. If a man is hungry and can't get to a fancy French restaurant, he'll go to a hot dog stand. For a woman, what's important is love and romance. Show less «
When I came to Hollywood I did not know [Ida Lupino], and she was married to Collier Young, his nickname was "Collie". A few years after the...Show more »
When I came to Hollywood I did not know [Ida Lupino], and she was married to Collier Young, his nickname was "Collie". A few years after they were married, they got a divorce, but remained friends. I had been in pictures for a few films and Ida wanted me to be in a film with her called The Bigamist (1953). It turned out that Collie was going to co-produce the film with Ida. I got a chance to meet Collie, I fell in love with him, and I married him. So, as it turned out, when Ida was very ill and in the hospital I visited her. She knew that I loved animals and asked if when the time comes, would I take Holden [Lupino's dog] to come and live with me. So this is how I came to be Holden's owner. So it turns out that I got two collies from Ida Lupino, and they both turned out to be dogs! Show less «
I'm a very affectionate person, and no man was ever able to satisfy that need for affection as well as my dogs do.
I'm a very affectionate person, and no man was ever able to satisfy that need for affection as well as my dogs do.
I make pictures because I like to be able to get a good table when I go to a nightclub and because I like to travel.
I make pictures because I like to be able to get a good table when I go to a nightclub and because I like to travel.
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