Joan Fontaine (1917–2013)

I am a big fan of classic movies, and one of the things that had me curious is how Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland, sisters, with about 15 months age difference between them, have managed to be estranged from each other for many years. It's kind of sad to think that at 92 and 93 years old that they wouldn't try to reach out to each other.

This book of course is told from Joan Fontaine's point of view, and paints a picture of her sister Olivia as jealous, conniving and out to thwart her sister's career. I have no opinion as to who may be the better actress, as they both have starred in Oscar Winning movies and have won Academy Awards for their individual performances. One would think that there would be enough movie roles and fame to go around for two siblings, and that they would be happy for each other's success, but such is the cutthroat movie business.

All I could think of when reading this book was how very sad Joan Fontaine's life seemed to be and that of course, there are two sides to every story.… (more)