Miss De Havilland in 1998

Born to British parents in Tokyo, Japan, raised in California and discovered by Max Reinhardt. De Havilland was often cast as the forgiving, passive woman opposite swashbuckling men like Errol Flynn, first proving her serious dramatic ability as the long-suffering Melanie in GONE WITH THE WIND (1939). In a celebrated court case of the 1940s she successfully sued Warner Bros. for refusing to release her at the end of a seven-year contract. (Warners had suspended her for six months for demanding better roles and claimed that she had to make up the extra time at the end of the seven-year period.) De Havilland's victory marked a breakthrough in players' rights, with studio contracts subsequently being limited to a total of seven years. Even though it seems that Miss De Havilland has been around forever, she lists only 47 feature films on her credits. Considering that 15 of them came before her first Oscar nomination, she has a remarkable record of fine screen performances. Some of her notable non-nominated credits include ALIBI IKE, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and CAPTAIN BLOOD (all 1935), ANTHONY ADVERSE and THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE (both 1936), THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938), DODGE CITY and THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX (both 1939), RAFFLES and SANTA FE TRAIL (both 1940), THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON and THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE (both 1941), IN THIS OUR LIFE and THE MALE ANIMAL (both 1942), PRINCESS O'ROURKE (1943), DEVOTION and THE DARK MIRROR (both 1946), MY COUSIN RACHEL (1952), NOT AS A STRANGER (1955), THE PROUD REBEL (1958), LIBEL (1959), LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (1962), LADY IN A CAGE and HUSH... HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (both 1964), THE ADVENTURERS (1970), POPE JOAN (1972), AIRPORT '77 (1977), THE SWARM (1978) and THE FIFTH MUSKETEER (1979). Sister of actress Joan Fontaine.  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1939: GONE WITH THE WIND  Nominated for Actress 1941: HOLD BACK THE DAWN  Actress 1946: TO EACH HIS OWN  Nominated for Actress 1948: THE SNAKE PIT  Actress 1949: THE HEIRESS 5 nominations, 2 Awards