In 2020, Hollywood lost one of its true legends: Olivia de Havilland.
The two-time Oscar-winning star of classic films like Gone with the Wind and The Adventures of Robin Hood, died at 104.
The last living major star of Hollywood’s golden age was notorious for her dark sense of humor during the filming of Gone With the Wind,– but her real-life was even darker than her movies…
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Nobody can touch Olivia in terms of her grace, control, beauty, strength, intelligence, and wit. She was the epitome of a lady.
De Havilland first gained fame in the 1930s as one of Hollywood’s top ingénues, memorably starring in swashbuckling adventure films opposite Errol Flynn, including the classics Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood.
She finished the decade with perhaps her best-remembered role: Melanie Wilkes in the classic Gone with the Wind, often ranked as one of the best Hollywood films of all time and, adjusted for inflation, still the highest-grossing film ever made.
As the kindhearted best friend and confidant to Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara, de Havilland provided the heart of the film, giving a classic performance that earned her her first Oscar nomination.
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But her other biggest contribution to Hollywood came off screen: in 1943, she sued Warner Bros. over the terms of her exclusive contract, wanting the freedom to pursue roles with other studios.
She won the lawsuit, striking a blow on behalf of actors and reducing the control the studio system had on them. To this day, it’s known as “The de Havilland Law.”
It also meant de Havilland was able to break her ingenue stereotype at Warner Bros and pursue more dramatic roles, which paid off: She received two Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role for 1946’s To Each His Own and 1949’s The Heiress, among other honors.
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Tragic childhood
In 1960, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2008 she was honored with the National Medal of Arts. De Havilland made her last screen appearance in 1988 but survived as one of the last members of classic Hollywood.
