Olivia de Havilland has died at the age of 104, her publicist confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. The legendary screen siren died as a result of natural causes at home in Paris, where she had lived for the past six decades.
The Oscar-winning star will be best remembered for her iconic role as Melanie in 1939’s Gone With the Wind, alongside Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. The role earned her her first of five Academy Award nominations and she won two Oscars for her roles in To Each His Own and The Heiress.
Born in Tokyo to British parents, de Havilland’s career began in the 1930s and she shot to fame alongside Errol Flynn in 1935 black-and-white movie Captain Blood. She starred alongside Flynn a number of times, including in 1938’s Robin Hood in which she took on the role of Maid Marian.
Tributes poured in for the actress on social media following the news, with actor and musician Jared Leto writing: “The legendary Olivia De Havilland passed away yesterday. She was 104. Olivia made a powerful impact in my life and I had the pleasure to spend some time with her in Paris. I thanked her for her bravery and shared how her choices affected me and my brother.”
BBC writer Matthew Sweet said: “She’s gone. Olivia de Havilland has gone. Showing, to the very end, the grit with which she took on the Hollywood studio system and won. I had one of the most perfect days of my life in her company. Sitting on that chaise, eating macaroons and gossiping about Errol Flynn.”
While Cannes Film Festival Director Thierry Fremaux commented: “She was a queen of Hollywood and will also be revered as such in the history of cinema.”
de Havilland was commonly considered to be the last surviving actress of Hollywood’ Golden Age and her death comes just months after the passing of Kirk Douglas. The Spartacus actor died in February at the age of 103.
Proudly Australian owned and operated