Screen star Olivia de Havilland dies aged 104

Screen star Dame Olivia de Havilland has died aged 104, she was the last surviving cast member of the epic film Gone With The Wind which was released in 1939. The two time Best Actress Academy Award winning actress died of natural causes and passed away in Paris, the city she had made her home for seven decades.   

Despite retiring from acting in the late 1980s de Havilland remained a respected and regularly seen member of the Hollywood community often appearing at Awards ceremonies. In 2017, she launched legal action against broadcaster FX over the Ryan Murphy series Feud: Bette and Joan, arguing that she had not given permission for her image to be used in the series.

“I was furious. I certainly expected that I would be consulted about the text. I never imagined that anyone would misrepresent me,” de Havilland told The Times in 2018, saying that the series characterised her as a “vulgar gossip” and a “hypocrite.”

The actress is best remembered for her role as Melanie Hamilton in Gone With the Wind, her portrayal earned her the first of five Oscar nominations, and her only one for Best Supporting Actress.

Olivia de Havilland first came to prominence starring alongside Errol Flynn in films including Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood. In the 1940’s she was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and appeared in films including Hold Back the Dawn (1941), To Each His Own (1946), The Snake Pit (1948), and The Heiress (1949), receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for each, winning for To Each His Own and The Heiress.

Her career included success on stage and in television, where she often appeared in epic mini-series.

OIP Staff

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