Actress Olivia de Havilland died on Sunday at the age of 104, reports Hollywood Reporter. Among other things, the star starred in Gone With The Wind, won two Oscars and changed the history of the film industry with a lawsuit.
The famous ‘golden age of Hollywood’ actress died of natural causes at her home in Paris, according to her publicist. Hollywood Reporter.
De Havilland won the Oscar for best actress for the films To Each his Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949). She was the oldest living actress with an Oscar to her name ABC News.
In addition to her acting career, De Havilland made history by winning a major lawsuit in 1945 against film studio Warner Bros. The actress felt that after seven years she had fulfilled her seven-year contract. At the time, Warner found that only the time actually worked counted for the contract period.
The judge agreed with De Havilland, heralding a new era for Hollywood, shifting power from movie studios to superstars. In the legal world, the ruling is known as ‘The Havilland Decision’.
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De Havilland at the 2011 Cesar Film Awards alongside French politician and screenwriter Frédéric Mitterrand (Image: Bruno Press).
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