DE HAVILLAND, Olivia

(1916– )

   Born in Japan, Olivia de Havilland is one of the most acclaimed female film stars of the 20th century. Her sister was the female actor Joan Fontaine. De Havilland won the Academy Award for best actress twice. She costarred with Errol Flynnin nine films, three of which were Westerns: Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), and They Died with Their Boots On (1941). The first two were directed by Michael Curtiz, who directed the other Flynn-de Havilland films. In each film, de Havilland played the faithful and beloved partner to Flynn’s swashbuckling character. The films in which Flynn costarred with de Havilland are probably his greatest, but de Havilland managed to break through the character type and move on to numerous feisty, strong, and independentwoman roles. For a time, Flynn and de Havilland were romantically involved off-screen. In later years she joined Ronald Reagan in his Hollywood anticommunist crusade.