Date of Birth: October 22, 1917
Zodiac Sign: Libra
Date of Death: December 15, 2013
Biography
Joan Fontaine was a celebrated British-American actress known for her captivating performances in classic Hollywood cinema. Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland on October 22, 1917, in Tokyo, Japan, she grew up in a family steeped in the arts. Her father, Walter de Havilland, was a British patent attorney, and her mother, Lilian Fontaine, was a former stage actress. Joan’s older sister, Olivia de Havilland, also became a famous actress, leading to one of Hollywood’s most famous sibling rivalries. Fontaine made her film debut in 1935 with a small role in “No More Ladies.” However, it was her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” (1940) that catapulted her to stardom, earning her an Academy Award nomination. She won the Oscar for Best Actress the following year for her performance in Hitchcock’s “Suspicion” (1941), making her the only actress to win an Oscar for a Hitchcock-directed film. Fontaine’s career spanned over five decades and included memorable roles in films such as “Jane Eyre” (1943), “The Constant Nymph” (1943), and “Letter from an Unknown Woman” (1948). Beyond her acting career, Fontaine was known for her elegance, wit, and resilience. She also had a successful television career and wrote an autobiography, “No Bed of Roses,” published in 1978.
5 Interesting Facts about Joan Fontaine
1. Joan Fontaine and her sister Olivia de Havilland were the first siblings to win Academy Awards in leading roles.
2. She legally changed her last name to Fontaine, her stepfather’s surname, to distinguish herself from her sister.
3. Joan Fontaine was an accomplished pilot and a licensed hot air balloonist.
4. She was married four times and had one daughter, Deborah Leslie Dozier.
5. Fontaine’s feud with her sister Olivia de Havilland was one of Hollywood’s longest-running sibling rivalries, lasting for over 70 years.
5 Most Interesting Quotes from Joan Fontaine
1. “You know, I’ve had a helluva life. Not just the acting, but the flying, the ballooning, the traveling, the friendships.”
2. “Marriage, as an institution, is as dead as the dodo bird.”
3. “I hope I’ll die on stage at the age at 105, playing Peter Pan.”
4. “To this day, I can’t help laughing at the fact that I won an Oscar for a film in which my character had absolutely no backbone.”
5. “I married first, won the Oscar before Olivia did, and if I die first, she’ll undoubtedly be livid because I beat her to it!”
Highest Net Worth Achieved
At the height of her career, Joan Fontaine’s net worth was estimated to be around $40 million.
Children
Joan Fontaine had one daughter, Deborah Leslie Dozier, born in 1948, from her marriage to actor and producer William Dozier.
Relevant Links
1. [Joan Fontaine – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000021/
2. [Joan Fontaine – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Fontaine
4. [Joan Fontaine – Academy Awards Database](https://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/
5. [Joan Fontaine – Find a Grave](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/121770662/joan-fontaine
