Olivia de Haviland was a wonderful British-American actress that captivated the public with her beauty, elegance, and resilience, living an enviable life as part of the Golden Age of Hollywood, rising to stardom opposite Errol Flynn in adventure films like Captain Blood (1935) and the Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).

One of her most memorable roles is that of Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939), for which she became an icon of femininity, compassion, quiet dignity, inner strength, and love.

She won her first Oscar for her portrayal in the film To Each His Own (1946) about an unwed mother who gives up her child for adoption and then spends the rest of her life trying to undo that decision.

Her second Oscar came from her role in The Heiress (1949). The film is about a naïve young woman who falls in love with a young man, over the objections of her cruel and emotionally abusive father, who suspects the young man of being a fortune seeker.

Olivia de Haviland’s great appeal was to evolve with her art as she herself matured. This was most evident in the romantic drama Light in the Piazza (1962) filmed in Florence and Rome. The film is about a middle-class American tourist on extended vacation in Italy with her beautiful 26-year-old daughter, who is mentally disabled as a result of a childhood accident. Faced with the prospect of her daughter falling in love with a young Italian, the mother struggles with conflicting emotions about her daughter's future. De Havilland projects a calm maternal serenity throughout most of the film.

Her performance was described as achieving “the rare and delicate balance of artistic beauty, romantic substance, dramatic novelty, and commercial appeal."

Olivia de Haviland died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 104 and will now be In Heaven with the Stars forever.