Olivia Mary (de Havilland) Galante (1916 - 2020)

Born 1 Jul 1916 in Tokyo, Japan

Ancestors

Wife of Marcus Aurelius Goodrich — married 26 Aug 1946 (to 28 Aug 1953) in United States

Died 26 Jul 2020 at age 104 in Paris, Île-de-France, France

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Biography

Olivia (de Havilland) Galante is Notable.

Olivia de Havilland - Honored Star of Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Olivia (de Havilland) Galante was a centenarian, living to age 104.

Silver screen legend and two-time Oscar winner Olivia Mary de Havilland was born on 1st July 1916 to British parents, Lilian (nee Ruse), a former actress, and Walter de Havilland, an English professor and patent attorney. Her equally illustrious sister, born the following year, became known as Joan Fontaine. Their parents divorced when Olivia was just three years old, and Olivia moved with her mother and sister to Saratoga, California, United States.

Olivia participated in the school play A Midsummer Night's Dream and was spotted by Max Reinhardt, who was so impressed that he picked her up for both his stage version and, later, the Warner Brothers film version in 1935. Warner executives immediately signed her to a seven-year contract. See Olivia's IMdB profile for her filmography.

In 1946 Olivia married Marcus Goodrich, a Texan screenwriter, actor, and novelist nineteen years her senior. They divorced in 1953, after having a son:

• Benjamin Briggs 'Ben' Goodrich (1949 - died of heart disease in 1991).

Olivia married a second time, to Pierre Galante, on 2nd April 1955. The marriage ended in 1979 but they continued to live together in France for several years. ^[1] A month after their wedding, Olivia and Pierre were responsible for the first meeting of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco. Olivia and Pierre have a daughter:

• Giselle Galante (1956-living) ^[2]

Olivia passed away in Paris, France, 26th July 2020, at age 104.

Family Feud Olivia, who was the elder sister by 15 months, resented sharing her parents attention with her younger sibling. Joan, in turn, felt that Olivia was the favored child. When Joan began her acting career she was told by her mother that she could not use the family name or contract with the same studio as her sister because they were Olivia’s. The girls had knock down, drag out physical fights as children. Hair pulling, savage wrestling ensued. Olivia cut up her hand me downs that were to be given to Joan. At one point, Fontaine was in their pool and grabbed Olivia’s ankle and tried to pull her in. Olivia, bigger and stronger, fought back and broke Joan’s collarbone on the pool ledge. De Havilland felt snubbed by Fontaine when she won the Best Actress Oscar they were both nominated for. In turn, when Olivia finally won she snubbed Joan both for the earlier episode and for disparaging remarks Fontaine had made about Olivia’s then husband. When their mother fell ill they disagreed on her treatment and when she died Joan, who was filming out of the country, didn’t receive Olivia’s telegram until two weeks later. Olivia made all the funeral arrangements without Joan and did not invite her to the memorial service. Joan however found out the details and attended anyway. Neither sister spoke to the other. In their later years they claimed there had never been a feud and it was an agenda pushed by the press.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia Profile
2. ↑ IMdB: Giselle Galante; accessed 28 Jul 2020

• Wikipedia contributors, "Olivia de Havilland," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olivia_de_Havilland&oldid=1206183776 (accessed February 12, 2024).
• Berkvist, R. (2020, July 26). Olivia de Havilland, a Star of 'Gone With the Wind,' Dies at 104.
• OBITUARY: Crowther, L. (2020, July 26). Olivia de Havilland obituary: Gone With the Wind star dies at 104. Legacy.com.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #213808236