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Biography

Born: Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland
Height: 5' 3" (1.60 m)

A delicately beautiful blonde leading lady, born to British parents in the Orient, Joan Fontaine is the younger sister of Olivia de Havilland (who she has supposedly many feuds with).

She moved to the US in 1919 and made her screen debut with a bit part in No More Ladies (1935), billed as Joan Burfield.

She achieved stardom in the early 1940s with memorable roles and performances in two Alfred Hitchcock films: Rebecca (1940), opposite Laurence Olivier, and Suspicion (1941), opposite Cary Grant, which earned her a Best Actress Oscar.

While her subsequent roles, though capably played, sometimes failed to make the best use of her talents, she continued as a star until the late 1950s and made intermittent film appearances thereafter. Fontaine's better starring vehicles include the wartime love story This Above All (1942), the elaborate costumer Frenchman's Creek (1944) and the haunting Max Ophuls period romance, Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948). Although often cast as a shy English rose type, Fontaine managed to occasionally vary the formula with more spirited roles in films like The Affairs of Susan (1945) and parts as schemers in Ivy (1947) and Born to Be Bad (1950).

Fontaine was married to actor Brian Aherne from 1939 to 1945, producer William Dozier from 1949 to 1951, producer Collier Young from 1952 to 1961 and journalist Alfred Wright Jr..

She currently resides in the US and still signs autographs for admirers who write to her. As she is no longer affliated to a studio, for a small fee to cover postage and photograph costs she sends out autographed photos. A small price to pay to get an autographed item from a living legend!

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16th December 2013 :: Death Announced

Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine has died in California aged 96.

joan fontaine

Fontaine died in her sleep on Sunday in her home in Carmel, California, her friend Noel Beutel said.

  • Joan Fontaine Dvds are available @ amazon.com.

    Key Dates

    1917
    Born 22 October in Tokyo, Japan

    1935:
    Screen debut under the name Joan Burfield in No More Ladies

    1937:
    Stars opposite Fred Astaire in A Damsel in Distress

    1939:
    Appears in Gunga Din. Marries Brian Aherne

    1940:
    Oscar nomination for her role in Rebecca

    1941:
    Wins Best Actress Oscar for her role in Suspicion

    1942:
    Appears in This Above All

    1943:
    Oscar nomination for her role in The Constant Nymph

    1944:
    Appears in Jane Eyre

    1945:
    Divorces Aherne

    1946:
    Marries William Dozier

    1948:
    Daughter, Deborah Leslie Dozier, born

    1951:
    Divorces Dozier

    1952:
    Marries Collier Young. Adopts an infant Peruvian girl who later runs away

    1961:
    Divorces Young

    1964:
    Marries Alfred Wright, Jr

    1966:
    Last lead in The Devil's Own

    1969:
    Divorces Wright, Jr

    1978:
    Publishes autobiography, No Bed of Roses

    2003:
    Resides in Carmel, California

    2013:
    Passes away in her sleep on Sunday, 15th December

    Joan Fontaine books are available @ amazon.com.


    Filmography

  • Good King Wenceslas (1994) (TV)

  • Dark Mansions (1986) (TV)
  • "Crossings" (1986) (mini) TV Series
  • "Ryan's Hope" (1975) TV Series

  • The Users (1978) (TV)

  • The Witches (1966)
  • Tender Is the Night (1962)
  • Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
  • The Light That Failed (1961) (TV)
  • The Three Musketeers (1960) (TV)

  • A Certain Smile (1958)
  • Until They Sail (1957)
  • Island in the Sun (1957)
  • Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
  • Serenade (1956)
  • Casanova's Big Night (1954)
  • The Bigamist (1953)
  • Flight to Tangier (1953)
  • Decameron Nights (1953)
  • The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1952) (uncredited)
  • Ivanhoe (1952)
  • Something to Live For (1952)
  • Darling, How Could You (1951)
  • September Affair (1950)
  • Born to Be Bad (1950)

  • Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
  • You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
  • The Emperor Waltz (1948)
  • Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
  • Ivy (1947)
  • From This Day Forward (1946)
  • The Affairs of Susan (1945)
  • Frenchman's Creek (1944)
  • Jane Eyre (1944)
  • The Constant Nymph (1943)
  • This Above All (1942)
  • Suspicion (1941)
  • Rebecca (1940)

  • The Women (1939)
  • Man of Conquest (1939)
  • Gunga Din (1939)
  • The Duke of West Point (1938)
  • Sky Giant (1938)
  • Blond Cheat (1938)
  • A Million to One (1938)
  • Maid's Night Out (1938)
  • A Damsel in Distress (1937)
  • Music for Madame (1937)
  • You Can't Beat Love (1937)
  • The Man Who Found Himself (1937)
  • Quality Street (1937) (uncredited)
  • No More Ladies (1935) (as Joan Burfield)

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    Biog. >> Death >> Key Dates >> Filmography >> Photo Gallery >> Rebecca Photo Gallery >> Rebecca Film Posters >> Suspicion Film Posters >> Joan Fontaine Books & Dvds available @ amazon.com

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    No Bed of Roses: An Autobiography Hardcover Book by Joan Fontaine

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