Joan Fontaine (November 21, 1917 – December 15, 2013) was an American film and television actress born in Tokyo, Japan.
Joan Fontaine was born into a British family in Tokyo, Japan. She has an older sister, Olivia, who is a year older than her.
In 1935, Joan returned to the United States to study acting in her sister's footsteps and with max reinhardt, whom she had studied with her sister. He later joined a crew in San Jose in San Francisco as an actor.
In 1935, Joan Fonden signed a contract with Raiden Films, and her first film was the comedy film "Not Many Ladies" or the name Joan Boufield; after that, she changed her stepfather's surname and officially became Joan Fontaine.
In 1937, Joan Fontaine played ten film roles in a row in different styles. For example, he played a socialite who was mistaken for a maid in the neuro comedy "The Maid Goes Out", played a noble nurse who saved the life of a homeless man in "The Man Who Found Himself", and played a nameless little role in the romantic comedy film "You Can't Beat Love".
In 1938, he was recognized by Catherine Hepburn as a lead actor in Characteristic Streets, and starred with Fred Astaire in the romantic comedy film Young Woman in Distress.
In 1940, Joan Fontaine, who had been auditioned for Hitchcock's first Hollywood film, Butterfly Dream, beat hundreds of auditioners to win the role of "Second Lady Derwent" in the film, and worked with British actor Lawrence Oliver. During the filming of Butterfly Dream, Hitchcock gave Fangdon a lot of guidance, allowing her to create the heroine's image of simple and restrained, weak and deceitful. Fontaine was nominated for best actress at the first Academy Awards and was praised by New York Times film critics.
In 1941, Joan Fontaine was nominated for an Oscar for Alfred Hitchcock's thriller suspense film DeepIns. Unlike "Butterfly Dream", "Deep Doubt" is a color movie. Fontaine won best actress at the 14th Academy Awards for this Hitchcock film. She is also the only actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Hitchcock films.
After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1943, he starred in the love film Jane Eyre with Orson Wells, and starred in the feature film "Eternal Girl" in the same year and was nominated for the Best Actress Award at the 16th Academy Awards.
In 1948, he co-starred with Louis Jordan in the love film "Letter from a Strange Woman" directed by Max Ofes, and participated in the production of the film. In 1952, he co-starred with Robert Taylor in the romantic adventure film The Legend of the Hero After the Disaster.
In 1956, he first appeared on the Broadway stage in the stage play "Tea and Sympathy".
In the 1960s, he starred in stage works such as "Winter Lion" and "40 Carats".
In 1978, he published his autobiography No Bed of Roses.
In 1982, he became President of the Jury of the Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1994, he participated in the filming of the TV series "Good King Winsles".
Joan Fonden died on December 15, 2013 at his home in Carmel, California, at the age of 96.
Representative works: Butterfly Dreams, Deep Doubts, Letter from a Strange Woman, Jane Eyre