Olivia de Havilland of "Gone with the Wind" Dies at 104

PARIS, KOMPAS.com – “Gone with the Wind” actress Olivia de Havilland passed away in Paris, France on Sunday at the age of 104.

“Gone with the Wind” was one in a dozen films that the actress starred in and she was also one of the last links with Hollywood’s golden era.

Olivia was the sister of Joan Fontaine, another Hollywood starlet. She was also a double Oscar winner who embodied the glamour of the 1930s and 1940s silver screen.

In her formidable career, Olivia de Havilland starred alongside Errol Flynn, Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh.

"If you can be dignified in an all-star epic about insect apocalypse — which she was — you can be dignified anywhere and everywhere," wrote film critic Nigel Andrews in the Financial Times in 2016.

His statement was referring to her part in "The Swarm" (1978).

"That was de Havilland's ace as a star. Dignity everywhere." wrote Nigel.

During a 2003 Oscars ceremony, Olivia was met with a standing ovation that lasted nearly four minutes where the actress presented an award at the event.

The round of applause came from members of modern Hollywood who paid homage to one of the long-lasting emblems of its past glory.

Wide acclaim 

"Gone with the Wind" (1939) brought de Havilland wide acclaim for her role as the long-suffering Melanie, love rival to the fiery Scarlett O'Hara played by Leigh.

The film was the highest-grossing movie of all time, adjusted for inflation, but its depiction of contented slaves and heroic slaveholders has garnered criticism in recent years.

Following this year's mass protests against racism and police brutality, it was removed from the HBO Max streaming platform in June.

The movie is pending a return at a later date along with a discussion of its historical context. The film, however, led to Olivia's first Oscar nomination.

But on the back of this roaring success, she frustrated her bosses at Warner Brothers, who at the time effectively owned their stars, by rejecting script after script when she found the roles uninspiring.