Perfect 101st birthday gift for star Olivia
GONE With The Wind star Olivia de Havilland said being made a dame was “the most gratifying of birthday presents”, as she prepares to turn 101.
The double Oscar winner was responsible for the so-called de Havilland Law, a landmark 1944 ruling that ended the grip studios had on contract actors.
In playing Southern belle Melanie Hamilton – Scarlett O’Hara’s sister-in-law – in the 1939 epic she landed her first Academy Award nomination.
And 78 years after the film was made, Miss de Havilland remains in good health. She joked recently: “Anyone who has ever heard my name has the distinct impression I was put under the sod years ago.”
The twice-married star, pictured left in 1935 and inset aged 94, is the oldest woman to become a dame. Born in Tokyo to British parents, she said: “I am extremely proud. To receive this as my 101st birthday [July 1] approaches is the most gratifying of presents.”
Her glittering career started when she appeared opposite Errol Flynn in Captain Blood in 1935 at the age of 19. The eligible starlet had affairs with billionaire Howard Hughes, director John Huston and actor James Stewart.