Olivia de Havilland - de Havilland Today

De Havilland Today

A resident of Paris since the 1950s, de Havilland rarely makes public appearances. According to John Lichfield in a 14 July 2009 interview published in the Independent, she was working on an autobiography and had hoped to have a first draft by September 2009.

She appeared as a presenter at the 75th Annual Academy Awards in 2003, earning a minute-long standing ovation on her entrance. In June 2006, she made appearances at tributes for her 90th birthday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

In 2004, Turner Classic Movies put together a retrospective piece called Melanie Remembers in which de Havilland was interviewed for the 65th anniversary of Gone with the Wind's original release. The film's last surviving principal cast member, de Havilland remembered every detail of her casting as well as filming. The 40-minute documentary can be seen on the Gone with the Wind four-disc special collector's edition.

Three of de Havilland's Gone with the Wind co-stars are alive as of November 2012: Alicia Rhett (born February 1, 1915), who played Ashley Wilkes's sister India Wilkes, is the oldest surviving cast member. Also surviving are Mary Anderson (born April 3, 1920), who played Maybelle Meriweather and Mickey Kuhn (born September 21, 1932), who played Beau Wilkes.

On 17 November 2008, at the age of 92, de Havilland received the National Medal of Arts.

De Havilland narrated the 2009 documentary, I Remember Better When I Paint. The film is about the importance of art in the treatment of Alzheimer’s. On 22 March 2011, she presented the film at a special screening in Paris.

On 9 September 2010, at the age of 94, Olivia de Havilland was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, a decoration awarded by the President of the French Republic.

In February 2011, Olivia de Havilland appeared in France at the César Award. The president of the ceremony, Jodie Foster, introduced her and de Havilland received a standing ovation.