A biography for Olivia De Havillandhasn’t been written yet.
“I feel like a survivor from an age that people no longer understand. I want to try to explain what the 1930s - the golden age of Hollywood - was truly like. People forget that America was such a different place then, not yet the dominant force in the world.”
“I had a very big crush on Errol Flynn during 'Captain Blood.' I thought he was absolutely smashing for three solid years, but he never guessed. Then he had one on me but nothing came of it. I'm not going to regret that; it could have ruined my life.”
“I would watch anything with Meryl Streep in it.”
“I was naturalized right before Pearl Harbor. Nine days later, I would have been classified as an enemy alien. I might have been sent to a camp.”
“Playing good girls in the 30s was difficult, when the fad was to play bad girls. Actually I think playing bad girls is a bore; I have always had more luck with good girl roles because they require more from an actress.”
“I don't feel the cold. It's my British blood!”
“I read the Scriptures at the American Cathedral on Christmas and Easter; that's it. It's a task I love.”
“We were like a stock company at Warners. We didn't know any of the stars from the other studios.”
“I'm certainly relishing the idea of living a century. Can you imagine that? What an achievement.”
“I was just a mini-star when we did 'Gone With the Wind.'”
“I wouldn't wish overnight success on anyone. You have no real friends. Everyone works endless hours at different studios, so far apart. Even on your own lot, relationships were formal and often competitive.”
“All of Hollywood was convinced that 'Gone with the Wind' would be a colossal disaster and rather hoped it would be.”