On December 15th, 2013, Hollywood lost a piece of film star royalty in Joan Fontaine. She and her sister, Olivia de Havilland, were some of Hollywood's most famous siblings and became famous during the time of the studio darlings. They were most known for their work on the big screen, Havilland in Gone With the Wind and Fontaine in Suspicion. As much as they were known for their work their long time feud was also public knowledge. After Fontaine's death Olivia made a rare statement about her sister, saying she was "shocked and saddened" by the news and that she was grateful for "the many kind expressions of sympathies." Fontaine died in her sleep at the age of 96 at her home in Carmel, California.
While we like to keep everything on the blog a positive note, the feud between these famous sisters does pique our interest! It's rumored their feud started when as children, Joan felt that Olivia was her mother's favorite. And well...considering when Joan wanted to follow in her sister's acting footsteps, their Mother REFUSED to let her use the Havilland surname as well leaving Joan to invent a new surname! We'd be steamed about that too!
Joan Fontaine in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter in 1978 is quoted to have said, "I married first, won the Oscar before Olivia did, and if I die first, she'll undoubtedly be livid because I beat her to it!"
Despite the sibling rivalry, we think both Joan and Olivia are beautiful and had several vintage ensembles that we wouldn't mind getting into a fight over.
Joan Fontaine (floral) and Olivia de Havilland (crimson) | source
Olivia and Joan | Source
If looks could kill! | source
Joan Fontaine | Source
Olivia de Havilland | Source
Joan (in floral) and Olivia | Source
Joan Fontaine | Source
Olivia de Havilland | Source
She was such a beauty and a wonderful talent!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos. The photo of Joan (wearing black lace) when she won her Oscar shows how happy Olivia was for her. I was fortunate enough to have the 1967 photo of Olivia and Joan signed by Joan but Olivia declined to sign it. I was a bit disappointed but understood since she explained why. Olivia signed everything else that I've sent her and has sent some very lovely letters. Joan was very gracious in answering a lot of my questions and signing photos. Joan will live on in the hearts of her fans & admirers and her films will live on on TCM.
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