(CelebNMusic247 – News) Olivia De Havilland Releases Statement Over Death of Joan Fontaine
After years of sibling rivalry, Olivia De Havilland Breaks Her Silence Over the death of sister Joan Fontaine, who died over the weekend.
Joan Fontaine’s older sister Olivia De Havilland releases a statement in regards of her sister’s death.
De Havilland, 97, issued a statement through the DGRW Talent Agency saying she was “shocked and saddened” by the news and that she was grateful for “the many kind expressions of sympathies.”
Fontaine, 96, died in her sleep on Sunday at her home in Carmel,California. De Havilland, who lives inParis, has often declined to talk about her sister.
De Havilland and Fontaine are among Hollywood‘s most famous siblings, stars from the studio era known for their many screen achievements and for a rivalry that at times became public, especially after they were both nominated for best actress in 1941. Fontaine won for Suspicion and later recalled the moment her name was announced at theAcademy Awards ceremony.
In 1978, Fontaine wrote an autobiography titled No Bed Of Roses, explaining the differences between she and her sister:
“All the animus we’d felt towards each other as children, the hair-pullings, the savage wrestling matches, the time Olivia fractured my collarbone, all came rushing back in kaleidoscopic imagery,”
“My paralysis was total. I felt Olivia would spring across the table and grab me by the hair. I felt age four, being confronted by my older sister. Damn it, I’d incurred her wrath again!”
De Havilland went on to win two Oscars, but that apparently did not warm her to Fontaine. After de Havilland won in 1947 for To Each His Own, Fontaine came forward to congratulate her and was rebuffed.
At the time of the incident, De Havilland’s publicist revealed:
“This goes back for years and years, ever since they were children.”
