Photograph was edited for publication purposes. Olivia de Havilland was born to English parents on July 1, 1916 in Tokyo, Japan. Her parents separated and her mother Lillian took Olivia and her sister Joan, born in 1917, to California to live. In 1925, after her divorce, Lillian remarried George M. Fontaine whose last name Joan would later take. The sisters developed a rivalry early on that would last the rest of their lives. De Havilland made her film debut in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," in October 1935. After two more disappointing films, she was paired with Errol Flynn in "Captain Blood." The film was well received and the two became a popular box office draw. De Havilland starred in many other movies in her seven years with Warner Brothers, gaining two Academy Award nominations, including one for "Gone with the Wind" in 1939. In 1943, Warner Brothers sought to extend her seven-year contract for six months because of prior suspensions. De Havilland took the studio to court and won, resulting in California's "seven-year rule," also known as Labor Code Section 2855. Still known today as the De Havilland Law, it prevented studios from extending their employees' contracts beyond seven calendar years. This was a blow to the studios and led to a blacklisting of de Havilland for two years. Moving on to other studios, de Havilland received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in "To Each His Own" in 1946, and "The Heiress" in 1949, and she was praised for her roles in several other films. De Havilland was married twice, to Marcus Goodrich and Pierre Galante, and had two children, Benjamin Goodrich and Gisele Galante. Her son died in 1991. De Havilland has lived in Paris since 1960. Photograph caption dated August 26, 1952 reads "Film star Olivia de Havilland tells of mate's threat to kill her, wins divorce." De Havilland was granted a divorce from her first husband Marcus Goodrich.
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
De Havilland, Olivia De Havilland, Olivia--Divorce Goodrich, Marcus,--1897-1991--Divorce Divorce--California--Los Angeles Motion picture actors and actresses--United States Women--California--Los Angeles Portrait photographs Los Angeles Evening Herald Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
