The British-American actress Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland, better known by her stage name Joan Fontaine is best recognized for her leading performances in Hollywood films during the “Golden Age”. Throughout a career spanning five decades, Fontaine appeared in more than 45 films. She was actress Olivia de Havilland’s younger sister. At the height of Fontaine’s career, the media extensively covered their rivalry.
Her Oscar nominations and victory
She gained praise and attention from critics throughout her career, garnering three Academy Award nominations, one of which led to her being named an Oscar winner.
Best actress nomination at the academy awards for Rebecca (1940)
In 1940, Joan Fontaine got her first Oscar nomination for playing the unnamed lead in the psychological suspense film “Rebecca” directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A young lady who marries rich widower Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) and relocates to his opulent house, Manderley, is the focus of the Daphne du Maurier book adaptation film. She discovers that Rebecca’s memories, Maxim’s late wife, casts a shadow over her. Widespread praise was given to Fontaine’s depiction of the timid, insecure, and innocent second Mrs. de Winter. Throughout the movie, she did a great job of capturing the character’s fragility and progressive change. The success of the movie was largely attributed to Fontaine’s ability to convey the inner conflict of her character and her connection with Laurence Olivier.
Best actress nomination at the academy awards for suspicion (1941)
The following year, for her part in “Suspicion,” another Alfred Hitchcock creation, Joan Fontaine won her second Oscar nomination. She won her solitary Oscar for her exhibition. In this film, Fontaine depicts Lina McLaidlaw, a young woman who becomes hopelessly enamored with and weds Cary Grant’s charming and magnetic Johnnie Aysgarth. Fontaine’s performance was praised for its ability to create suspense and tension as she convincingly portrayed the emotional turmoil of her character. However, as the marriage progresses, Lina begins to suspect that her husband is concealing dark secrets and may even be planning to kill her for her inheritance. Her portrayal of the woman who became more uneasy and wary throughout the movie gave it depth and demonstrated her acting abilities.
Best actress nomination at the academy awards for the constant nymph (1943)
The third Oscar nomination Joan Fontaine received for “The Constant Nymph” cemented her position as one of Hollywood’s most gifted performers. In this love drama, Fontaine plays Tessa Sanger, a young woman who develops feelings for Lewis Dodd, a composer who is much older and is portrayed by Charles Boyer. Lewis’s engagement to a more appropriate lady adds to the complexity of their relationship, which is explored in the movie. When Fontaine played the young, naive Tessa negotiating the depths of love and grief, her performance was praised for its emotional depth and honesty. She demonstrated her capacity to evoke emotion in the audience via her depiction of Tessa’s dedication and unrequited love.
Later career
In the 1970s, Fontaine performed in plays and went on tour with a reading of poetry. In 1975, she visited Hollywood again for the first time in 15 years to take part in a Cannon episode created just for her. She starred in The Users in 1978 and received an Emmy Award nomination in 1980 for the drama Ryan’s Hope. No Bed of Roses, Fontaine’s autobiography, was released in 1978. She visited Berlin, Germany, in 1982 when she presided over the jury for the Berlin International Film Festival. After living in New York for 25 years, she relocated to Carmel, California, in the early 1980s. In 1986, she appeared in Crossings, Bare Essence, and Aloha Paradise. Dark Crossings, a TV film she starred in, was released in 1986. She retired after her last broadcast appearance in the 1994 TV movie Good King Wenceslas to her residence, Villa Fontana, in Carmel Highlands, California. Fontaine has a star at 1645 Vine Street on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her work in the film business.
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