Joan Fontaine was born on October 22, 1917 in Tokyo, Japan. She is an Academy Award-winning American actress.

Joan made her stage debut in the West Coast production of Call It A Day in 1935 and was soon signed to an RKO contract. In later life she appeared on Broadway in Forty Carats.

Her film debut was a small role in No More Ladies (1935). She was selected to appear in a major role alongside Fred Astaire in his first RKO film without Ginger Rogers: A Damsel in Distress (1937).

Joan won first for her role in Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion (1941) over Olivia's nomination for Hold Back the Dawn (1941).

She went on to continued success during the 1940s in which she excelled in romantic melodramas. Among her memorable films during this time were The Constant Nymph (1943), Jane Eyre (1944), Ivy (1947) and Letter From An Unknown Woman (1948).

Her film successes slowed a bit during the 1950s and she also began appearing in television and on the stage. She won good reviews for her role on Broadway in 1954 as Laura in Tea and Sympathy opposite Anthony Perkins.

During the 1960s, she continued her stage appearances in several productions, among them Private Lives, Cactus Flower and an Austrian production of The Lion in Winter.

Her last theatrical film was The Witches (1966), which she also co-produced. She made sporadic television appearances throughout the 1970s and 1980s and was nominated for an Emmy for the soap opera, Ryan's Hope in 1980.

Filmography

• Good King Wenceslas (1994)
• Dark Mansions (1986)
• "Hotel" (1 episode, 1986)
• "Crossings" (1986)
• "Bare Essence" (2 episodes, 1983)
• "The Love Boat" (1 episode, 1981)
• "Aloha Paradise" (1 episode, 1981)
• "Ryan's Hope" (1975)
• The Users (1978)
• "Cannon" (1 episode, 1975)
• The Witches (1966)
• "The Bing Crosby Show" (1 episode, 1965)
• "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1 episode, 1963)
• "Wagon Train" (1 episode, 1963)
• "The Dick Powell Show" (1 episode, 1962)
• Tender Is the Night (1962)
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
• "Checkmate" (1 episode, 1961)
• The Light That Failed (1961)
• "General Electric Theater" (5 episodes, 1956-1961)
• "Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond" (1 episode, 1960)
• "Startime" (1 episode, 1960)
• "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1 episode, 1959)
• A Certain Smile (1958)
• Until They Sail (1957)
• "On Trial" (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
• Island in the Sun (1957)
• "The 20th Century-Fox Hour" (1 episode, 1956)
• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
• Serenade (1956)
• "The Ford Television Theatre" (1 episode, 1956)
• "Letter to Loretta" (1 episode, 1955)
• "Four Star Playhouse" (2 episodes, 1953-1955)
• Casanova's Big Night (1954)
• The Bigamist (1953)
• Flight to Tangier (1953)
• Decameron Nights (1953)
• Ivanhoe (1952)
• The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1952)
• Something to Live For (1952)
• Darling, How Could You! (1951)
• Born to Be Bad (1950)
• September Affair (1950)
• Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
• You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
• The Emperor Waltz (1948)
• Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
• Ivy (1947)
• From This Day Forward (1946)
• The Affairs of Susan (1945)
• Frenchman's Creek (1944)
• Jane Eyre (1944)
• The Constant Nymph (1943)
• This Above All (1942)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Rebecca (1940)
• The Women (1939)
• Man of Conquest (1939)
• Gunga Din (1939)
• The Duke of West Point (1938)
• Sky Giant (1938)
• Blond Cheat (1938)
• Maid's Night Out (1938)
• A Damsel in Distress (1937)
• Music for Madame (1937)
• You Can't Beat Love (1937)
• The Man Who Found Himself (1937)
• Quality Street (1937)
• A Million to One (1937)
• No More Ladies (1935)

Awards

• National Board of Review Award Best Acting "Suspicion" 1941
• New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Actress "Suspicion" 1941
• Oscar Best Actress "Suspicion" 1941
• National Board of Review Award Best Acting "Rebecca" 1940