Joan Fontaine
Actor
Born October 22, 1917 in Tokyo, Japan
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.
Filmography
Becoming Cary Grant
Self (archive footage)
Talking Pictures
Self (archive footage)
Vito
Self (archive)
The Making of 'Rebecca'
Self (archive footage)
Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock
Self (archive footage)
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies
Self (archive footage)
Good King Wenceslas
Queen Ludmilla
The World of Hammer
Self (archive footage)
Dark Mansions
Margaret Drake
Crossings
Alexandra Markham
All by Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story
Self
Hotel
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Self (archive footage)
Aloha Paradise
The Users
Grace St. George
The Love Boat
Jennifer Langley
Songs for After a War
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Cannon
The Witches
Gwen Mayfield
The Bing Crosby Show
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Alice Pemberton
Tender Is the Night
Baby Warren
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Self (uncredited)
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Dr. Susan Hiller
Startime
Julie Forbes
One Step Beyond
Ellen Grayson
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
A Certain Smile
Françoise Ferrand
Until They Sail
Anne Leslie
Island in the Sun
Mavis Norman
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Susan Spencer
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
Serenade
Kendall Hale
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Casanova's Big Night
Francesca Bruni
The Bigamist
Eve Graham
Flight to Tangier
Susan Lane
Letter to Loretta
Self - Guest Host
The Oscars
Self
General Electric Theater
Countess Irene Forelli
Decameron Nights
Fiametta / Bartolomea / Ginevra / Isabella
Four Star Playhouse
Trudy
Ivanhoe
Rowena
Something to Live For
Jenny Carey
Othello
Page
Darling, How Could You!
Alice Grey
September Affair
Manina Stuart
Born to Be Bad
Christabel
What's My Line?
Self - Panelist
The Art Director
Self / Jane Eyre (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
Jane Wharton
You Gotta Stay Happy
Dee Dee Dillwood
The Emperor Waltz
Johanna Augusta Franziska
Letter from an Unknown Woman
Lisa Berndle
Ivy
Ivy
From This Day Forward
Susan
The Affairs of Susan
Susan Darell
Frenchman's Creek
Dona St. Columb
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
The Constant Nymph
Tessa Sanger
Breakdowns of 1942
Self
This Above All
Prudence Cathaway
Suspicion
Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth
Rebecca
Mrs. de Winter
Joan Fontaine Wardrobe Test
Self
The Women
Peggy Day
Joan Fontaine, "Rebecca" Screen Test
Self
Man of Conquest
Eliza Allen
Gunga Din
Emmaline "Emmy" Stebbins
The Duke of West Point
Ann Porter
Sky Giant
Meg Lawrence
Blond Cheat
Julie Evans
Maid's Night Out
Sheila Harrison
A Damsel in Distress
Alyce Marshmorton
Music for Madame
Jean Clemens
You Can't Beat Love
Trudy Olson
The Man Who Found Himself
Doris King
Quality Street
Charlotte Parratt
A Million to One
Joan Stevens
No More Ladies
Caroline Rumsey