Joan Fontaine

Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland on October 22, 1917, in Tokio, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lukrativen practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia von 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 eltern did not get along well and divorced soon afterward. Mrs. de Havilland had a desire to be an actress ziel 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 filmen.

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 jahr 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 jahr established member of the Hollywood-set. She would again be-Oscar-nominated for her role as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth in Verdacht (1941), and this time she won.

Joan was making one film a year ziel choosing her roles in 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 filme 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 dass for both her and the studio and more weak-produktionen gefolgt. 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.