Joan Fontaine, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Joan Fontaine
Acting

Joan Fontaine
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1917-10-22,Tokyo, Japan
Gender
Female
Biography
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". She was born in Tokyo, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lucrative practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia de 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 parents did not get along well and divorced soon afterward. Mrs. de Havilland had a desire to be an actress but 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 films. 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 an 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 an established member of the Hollywood set. She would again be Oscar-nominated for her role as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth in Suspicion (1941), and this time she won. Joan was making one film a year but choosing her roles 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 films 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 badly for both her and the studio and more weak productions followed. 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.

Filmography

7.89

Rebecca
1940-03-23

Letter from an Unknown Woman

7.8

Letter from an Unknown Woman
1948-04-28

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

5.7

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1961-07-12

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

6.9

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
1956-09-13

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands

6.6

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
1948-10-30

7.109

The Women
1939-09-01

7.1

Suspicion
1941-11-14

6.9

Jane Eyre
1943-12-24

6.5

Gunga Din
1939-01-26

You Gotta Stay Happy

6.462

You Gotta Stay Happy
1948-10-28

6.782

Ivanhoe
1952-07-31

6.1

The Witches
1966-11-21

5.5

Serenade
1956-03-23

Island in the Sun

6.5

Island in the Sun
1957-06-12

5.9

Born to Be Bad
1950-09-28

6.8

Ivy
1947-06-26

Becoming Cary Grant

6.6

Becoming Cary Grant
2017-05-23

The Emperor Waltz

5.9

The Emperor Waltz
1948-07-02

A Damsel in Distress

6.4

A Damsel in Distress
1937-11-19

7.4

Othello
1951-11-28

5.9

Quality Street
1937-03-26

6.5

The Bigamist
1953-12-03

September Affair

6.1

September Affair
1950-10-18

Casanova's Big Night

6.1

Casanova's Big Night
1954-04-07

The Constant Nymph

5.762

The Constant Nymph
1943-06-23

A Certain Smile

5.8

A Certain Smile
1958-07-31

Something to Live For

6.8

Something to Live For
1952-03-07

4.7

Sky Giant
1938-07-22

Until They Sail

6.4

Until They Sail
1957-10-08

6.639

This Above All
1942-05-12

5.1

No More Ladies
1935-06-14

Frenchman's Creek

5

Frenchman's Creek
1944-09-20

Darling, How Could You!

6

Darling, How Could You!
1951-08-08

From This Day Forward

5.2

From This Day Forward
1946-03-02

The Duke of West Point

3.8

The Duke of West Point
1938-12-29

Decameron Nights

5

Decameron Nights
1953-01-13

The Affairs of Susan

6.1

The Affairs of Susan
1945-07-08

Man of Conquest

5.2

Man of Conquest
1939-05-15

6

Blond Cheat
1938-06-17

Music for Madame

5

Music for Madame
1937-10-08

You Can't Beat Love

6

You Can't Beat Love
1937-06-25

A Million to One

3

A Million to One
1936-12-31

The Man Who Found Himself

7

The Man Who Found Himself
1937-04-02

Maid's Night Out

6.2

Maid's Night Out
1938-03-03

Flight to Tangier

6.1

Flight to Tangier
1953-11-20

Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies

0

Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies
2000-06-27

1

The Users
1978-10-01

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

3.3

Hollywood: The Selznick Years
1961-12-31

Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock

7

Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock
2004-09-07

All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story

0

All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story
1982-09-10

Good King Wenceslas

3

Good King Wenceslas
1994-11-26

0

Dark Mansions
1986-08-23

Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood

7.6

Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
1999-01-23

The Art Director

0

The Art Director
1949-11-12

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

5.6

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
1985-03-03

Tender Is the Night

5.2

Tender Is the Night
1962-01-19

Breakdowns of 1942

6

Breakdowns of 1942
1942-12-31

6.266

The Love Boat
1977-09-24

6.8

Hotel
1982-08-21

General Electric Theater

6

General Electric Theater
1953-02-01

6.455

Cannon
1971-09-14

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

5.25

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958-10-06

One Step Beyond

5.615

One Step Beyond
1959-01-20

The 20th Century Fox Hour

5.2

The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955-10-05

5

Aloha Paradise
1981-02-25

The Bing Crosby Show

5

The Bing Crosby Show
1964-09-14

7

The Oscars
1953-03-19

Letter to Loretta

6.2

Letter to Loretta
1953-09-20

Talking Pictures

5

Talking Pictures
2013-01-05

General Electric Theater

6

General Electric Theater
1953-02-01

General Electric Theater

6

General Electric Theater
1953-02-01

General Electric Theater

6

General Electric Theater
1953-02-01

General Electric Theater

6

General Electric Theater
1953-02-01

Four Star Playhouse

6.125

Four Star Playhouse
1952-09-25

4.8

Crossings
1986-02-23

4.6

Tony Awards
1956-04-01

What's My Line?

6.8

What's My Line?
1950-02-02

What's My Line?

6.8

What's My Line?
1950-02-02

The Mike Douglas Show

5.1

The Mike Douglas Show
1961-12-11

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

7.791

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962-09-20