British-American actress with two Academy Awards for Best Actress, a five-time Oscar nominee whose 1944 lawsuit reshaped the Hollywood studio contract system.
Background
Born in Tokyo to British parents and raised in California, de Havilland and her younger sister, the actress Joan Fontaine, both became Oscar-winning leading ladies. She trained briefly at the Saratoga Community Theater before her Warner Bros. contract in 1935.
Career
Her partnership with Errol Flynn produced eight films, including “Captain Blood” and “The Adventures of Robin Hood”. She played Melanie Hamilton in “Gone with the Wind” (1939) and won the landmark De Havilland Decision case against Warner Bros. in 1944.
Style
De Havilland’s lawsuit limited Hollywood studios from extending contracts indefinitely. She lived in Paris from 1953 to her death at 104 in 2020 and was the last surviving credited cast member of “Gone with the Wind”.
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