Olivia de Havilland's Oscar-Nominated Performances

Done

No disrespect but I don't think she ever achieved the status of an icon, and I mean that in a positive way.

Yes, she was the last representative of Hollywood Golden Age, the last star, certainly... but she always struck me as one of these respected and beloved figures whose fame rose far beyond the Hollywood star-machinery, she was no Bette Davis or Marylin Monroe but there was something more complex and genuinely fascinating about her.

She could look sweet and gentle like Melanie but she had the guts to sue Jack Warner and set a great precedent helping other actors careers, she was glamorous but played plain women to perfection, she handled her career in a very professional way and knew when to quit when her stardom faded.

I was saddened by her death, I just loved her performance in "The Heiress" as a woman who looks like a gullible spinster but gets tougher at the end... I will never forget that last shot of her climbing the stairs with that victorious smile.

There was something of her in that role, behind that pretty face therr was a wilful personality, a fist of iron, a great deal of tenacity (not talking with your own sister for decades?)... anyway, may she rest in peace.

The comment on the word "icon" is because I think we overuse this word sometimes, maybe out of nostalgia for eras we didn't live in.

I'm jealous, TCM isn't supported by my TV provider :(

We have a similar channel called Silverscreen Classics, but the only Olivia de Havilland movie that they are airing is The Heiress on September 3rd.