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The Beginning:

Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland was the name that Joan Fontaine was born with on October 22, 1917. She was born in Tokyo, Japan to two British parents. Joan is the younger sister of actress Olivia de Havilland.
Joan was a sick child with anemia. The doctor suggested that she move to the United States. They moved to Saratoga, California.
Joan was very smart. When Joan was fifteen, Joan returned to Japan to live with her father for two years.

Sibling Rivalry:

Olivia and Joan always have had sibling rivalry. Olivia became an actress before Joan. When Joan decided to become an actress, their mother told her she could not use the family name. There was talk that their mother favored Olivia. A biographer said that Olivia would rip up the hand-me-downs that were given to Joan. Joan was forced to sew them back together.
Both Olivia and Joan were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1942. Joan won first for her role in Alfred Hitchcock's "Suspicion" over Olivia's nomination for "Hold Back the Dawn". There was some resentment about the behavior demonstrated at the ceremony that led to the further crumbling of their relationship. The sisters completely stopped talking in 1975.

Films:

Joan's first appearance in a major movie role was with Fred Astaire. "A Damsel in Distress". The movie was not a big hit. She played some other roles in that time, but nothing was impressive.

"Rebecca" was Joan's next big hit. "Rebecca" was a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. She was nominated for an academy award, but did not win.
She went continued her success in the 1940s. Among her big films during this time were "The Constant Nymph", "Jane Eyre", "Ivy", and "Letter From An Unknown Woman".

Her film successes slowed down in the 50s due to her appearances in television and on the stage. She won good reviews for her role on "Broadway" and in "Tea and Sympathy", with Anthony Hopkins.

During the 1960s, she continued her stage appearances in several shows. Her last movie was "The Witches". She had some television appearances throughout the 1970s and 1980s and was nominated for an Emmy for the soap opera, "Ryan's Hope" in 1980.
She resides in Carmel, California currently and I believe she is in her early 90s. She is considered one of the last remaining great leading ladies of the 30s and 40s. Joan Fontaine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1645 Vine Street.

Marriages:

She met her first husband, Brian Eherne. They didn't work out. Her second husband was William Dozier. Her third husband was Collier Young. Her fourth husband was Alfred Wright Jr.

Children:

She has one daughter, Deborah Leslie Dozier from her marriage with Dozier, and another daughter, Martita, an adoptee, who ran away from home.

Learn more about this author, Suzanne Fort.
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