Joan Fontaine Biography (1917-)

Real name, Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland; born October 22, 1917, in Tokyo, Japan; immigrated to the United States, c. 1919; naturalized citizen of the United States, 1943; daughter of Walter (an attorney) and Lillian (maiden name,Ruse; an actress) de Havilland; sister of Olivia de Havilland (an actress); married Brian Aherne (an actor), August 20, 1939 (divorced, June, 1944); married William Dozier, May 2, 1946 (divorced, 1951); married Collier Young, November, 1952 (divorced, 1961); married Alfred Wright, Jr., 1964 (divorced, 1969); children: (second marriage) Deborah Leslie. Avocational interests: Amateur piloting. Career: Actress. Appeared in the stage in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco, CA. Began her career in film using the names Joan Burfield and Joan St. John. Awards, Honors: Academy Award nomination, best actress, 1940, for Rebecca; Academy Award, best actress,1941, for Suspicion; Academy Award nomination, best actress, 1943, for The Constant Nymph; Golden Apple Award, Hollywood Women's Press Club, Star of the Year, 1947. Addresses: Agent: The Gage Group, 9255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 515, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Nationality
American
Gender
Female
Occupation
Actress
Birth Details
October 22, 1917
Tokyo, Japan

Famous Works

  • CREDITS
  • Film Appearances
  • (Film debut; as Joan Burfield) Caroline Rumsey, No More Ladies, Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer, 1935
  • Trudy Olson, You Can't Beat Love, RKO Radio Pictures, 1937
  • (Uncredited) Charlotte Parratt, Quality Street, RKO Radio Pictures, 1937
  • Jean Clemens, Music for Madame, RKO Radio Pictures, 1937
  • Joan Stevens, A Million to One, Puritan, 1937
  • Lady Alyce Marshmorton, A Damsel in Distress, RKO Radio Pictures,1937
  • Meg, Sky Giant, RKO Radio Pictures, 1938
  • Doris King, The Man Who Found Himself, RKO Radio Pictures, 1938
  • Sheila Harrison, Maid's Night Out, RKO Radio Pictures, 1938
  • Ann Porter, The Duke of West Point, United Artists, 1938
  • Ann, Blonde Cheat, RKO Radio Pictures, 1938
  • Peggy Day, The Women, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939
  • Emmy Stebbins, Gunga Din, RKO Radio Pictures, 1939
  • Eliza Allen, Man of Conquest, Republic Pictures, 1939
  • Mrs. De Winter, Rebecca, United Artists, 1940
  • Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth, Suspicion, RKO Radio Pictures, 1941
  • Prudence Cathaway, This Above All, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1942
  • Tessa Sanger, The Constant Nymph, Warner Bros., 1943
  • Title role, Jane Eyre, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1944
  • Lady Dona St. Columb, Frenchman's Creek, Paramount, 1944
  • Susan Darell, The Affairs of Susan, Paramount, 1945
  • Susan, From This Day Forward, RKO Radio Pictures, 1946
  • Ivy Lexton, Ivy, Universal, 1947
  • Dee Dee Dillwood, You Gotta Stay Happy, Universal, 1948
  • Jane Wharton, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (also known as BloodOn My Hands), Universal, 1948
  • Lisa Berndle, Letter from an Unknown Woman, Universal, 1948
  • Johanna Franziska von Stultzenberg, The Emperor Waltz, Paramount,1948
  • Monina Stuart, September Affair, Paramount, 1950
  • Christabel Caine, Born to Be Bad, RKO Radio Pictures, 1950
  • Mrs. Alice Grey, Darling, How Could You! (also known as Rendezvous), Paramount, 1951
  • Page, Othello (also known as Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice), United Artists, 1952
  • Jenny Carey, Something to Live For, Paramount, 1952
  • Lady Rowena, Ivanhoe, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952
  • Susan, Flight to Tangier, Paramount, 1953
  • Fiametta, Bartolomea, Ginevra, and Isabella, Decameron Nights (also known as Tres historias de amor), Film Locations, 1953
  • Eve Graham, The Bigamist, Filmmakers, 1953
  • Francesca Bruni, Casanova's Big Night, Paramount, 1954
  • Kendell Hale, Serenade, Warner Bros., 1956
  • Susan Spencer, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, RKO Radio Pictures, 1956
  • Anne Leslie, Until They Sail, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1957
  • Mavis Norman, Island in the Sun, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1957
  • Polynesian woman, South Pacific, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958
  • Francoise Ferrand, A Certain Smile, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958
  • Dr. Susan Hiller, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (also known as Journey to the Bottom of the Sea), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1961
  • Baby Warren, Tender is the Night, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1962
  • Gwen Mayfield, The Devil's Own (also known as The Witches),Twentieth Century-Fox, 1966
  • Television Appearances
  • Movies
  • The faded film star, The Users, ABC, 1978
  • Dark Mansions, ABC, 1986
  • Queen Ludmilla, Good King Wenceslas, syndicated, 1994
  • Miniseries
  • Alexandra Markham, Crossings, ABC, 1986
  • Episodic
  • Four Star Playhouse, CBS, 1953
  • Lynne Abbott, "Stranger in the Night," The 20th Century-Fox Hour,CBS, 1956
  • Naomi Kaylor, "The Naomi Kaylor Story," Wagon Train, ABC, 1963
  • Thelma Cain, "The Star," Cannon, CBS, 1975
  • Stage Appearances
  • (Stage debut) Call It A Day, Los Angeles, CA, 1935
  • Tea and Sympathy, Broadway production, 1954
  • The Lion in Winter, English Speaking Theatre, Vienna, Austria, 1979
  • Major Tours
  • Ann Stanley, Forty Carats, U.S. cities, 1974
  • WRITINGS
  • Autobiography
  • No Bed of Roses, Morrow (New York City), 1978

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

    Books:
    • Beeman, Marsha Lynn, Joan Fontaine: A Bio-bibliography, GreenwoodPress (Westport, CT), 1994.
    • Higham, Charles, Sisters: The Story of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine, Coward-McCann (New York City), 1984.*