Joan Fontaine 1917-2013

Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson in the 1940 Academy Award-winning "Rebecca," directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

An Oscar-winning actress (for Hitchcock's "Suspicion"), Fontaine appeared in more than 30 films and numerous TV appearances during a career spanning nearly six decades. Fontaine died at her Carmel, Calif., home on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013. She was 96.

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

"Quality Street"

Left: Joan Fontaine made an uncredited appearance in the period film, "Quality Street." (1937), which starred Katharine Hepburn.

Fontaine was born Joan de Havilland in 1917 in Tokyo, where her British parents lived. Her family moved Joan and her younger sister, Olivia de Havilland, to California in 1919.

After appearing in a play in Los Angeles, Joan was signed to her first film, "Quality Street," taking as her name that of her mother's second husband.

"The Duke of West Point"

Louis Hayward and Joan Fontaine in "The Duke of West Point" (1938).

"Gunga Din"

Joan Fontaine with Cary Grant in "Gunga Din" (1939).

"The Women"

George Cukor's catfest "The Women," from Clare Booth Luce's play, featured Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine and Norma Shearer.

"Rebecca"

Joan Fontaine's breakout role was in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, "Rebecca" (1940), based on Daphne du Maurier's novel. Fontaine played the second Mrs. De Winter, whose husband, Max (Laurence Olivier), may be implicated in the untimely death of his first wife. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

"Rebecca"

Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. De Winter, and Judith Anderson as the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, who has a suspiciously unnatural attachment to the dead woman named "Rebecca."

"Rebecca"

Director Alfred Hitchcock with stars Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier on the set of "Rebecca."

"Suspicion"

Joan Fontaine returned in another Hitchcock thriller, "Suspicion," in which she comes to suspect her loving, doting husband (Cary Grant) is actually out to kill her.

"This Above All"

Joan Fontaine and Tyrone Power in "This Above All," a romance set in wartime England.

"The Constant Nymph"

Joan Fontaine received her third Best Actress Oscar nomination for the romantic drama, "The Constant Nymph," opposite Charles Boyer.

"Jane Eyre"

One of Joan Fontaine's most memorable performances was as the title character in Robert Stevenson's 1943 film of "Jane Eyre."

"Jane Eyre"

On the day of her wedding Jane Eyre (Joan Fontaine) learns that her betrothed, Edward Rochester (Orson Welles), has a terrible secret, in the 1943 film, "Jane Eyre."

"Frenchman's Creek"

"Frenchman's Creek" (1944) was a Technicolor production of a noblewoman (Joan Fontaine) who takes up with a pirate.

"Frenchman's Creek"

Joan Fontaine is the English aristocrat and Arturo de Cordova a French pirate in "Frenchman's Creek" (1943).

"Ivy"

Joan Fontaine in the title role of "Ivy" as a reckless seducer of men. Murder is not beyond her feminine wiles.

"Letter From an Unknown Woman"

Max Ophuls' romance, "Letter From an Unknown Woman" (1948), starred Louis Jordan as a Viennese concert pianist attached to Joan Fontaine, the object of affection of others as well.

"You Gotta Stay Happy"

No romantic comedy is complete without a chimpanzee, as evident in the Jimmy Stewart-Joan Fontaine film, "You Gotta Stay Happy" (1948).

"Kiss the Blood Off My Hands"

Joan Fontaine helps a fugitive wanted for murder (Burt Lancaster) in the 1948 drama, "Kiss the Blood Off My Hands."

"September Affair"

When a flight from Rome is diverted to Naples, what are two passengers to do there but fall in love? Joseph Cotten and Joan Fontaine in William Dieterle's "September Affair."

"Born to Be Bad"

Joan Fontaine as a scheming, manipulative woman (obvi) in the 1950 drama, "Born to Be Bad," directed by Nicholas Ray.

"Ivanhoe"

Joan Fontaine as the Lady Rowena, with Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor, in the 1952 production of "Ivanhoe," based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott.

"Casanova's Big Night"

Joan Fontaine (the one with the mustache) and Bob Hope (the one in the dress) in the 1954 comedy, "Casanova's Big Night."

"Until They Sail"

A publicity shot for the 1957 drama, "Until They Sail," about four women (Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Piper Laurie and Sandra Dee) who become romantically distracted by U.S. servicemen stationed Down Under.

"Island in the Sun"

Fontaine's most daring role was in the 1957 film "Island in the Sun," about an interracial romance. Several Southern cities banned the movie, which co-starred Harry Belafonte, after threats from the Ku Klux Klan.

"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"

Irwin Allen's 1961 science fiction film, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," about a mission to save the world, starred Barbara Eden, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre and Walter Pigeon aboard the nuclear submarine Seaview.

"Tender Is the Night"

Joan Fontaine as Baby Warren, in Henry King;s 1962 adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Tender Is the Night."

"The Witches"

Joan Fontaine (with Leonard Rossiter) discovers that black magic cultists have taken up in a quiet English village in the Hammer horror film, "The Witches" (1966).

In later years Fontaine returned to the stage, appearing on Broadway in "Tea and Sympathy" "Forty Carats." She made numerous TV appearances, including "The Love Boat," ''Cannon," and the soap opera, "Ryan's Hope," for which she received Emmy nomination.

"Ivanhoe"

Joan Fontaine as Rowena in "Ivanhoe."

By CBSNews.com senior editor David Morgan. The Associated Press contributed to this report.