News Release — January 21, 2026

Harry Ransom Center Acquires the Olivia de Havilland Papers

Archive of the two-time Academy Award–winning actor illuminates Hollywood’s Golden Age and the transformation of the studio system

AUSTIN, TX — The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin has acquired the archive of Olivia de Havilland (1916–2020), the internationally renowned film star whose life and career helped define—and ultimately reshape—the Hollywood studio system.

Spanning more than a century, the papers reflect de Havilland’s remarkable personal and professional journey: her early years in Japan, her emigration to the United States, her rise to international stardom, and the many decades she later spent in France. Together, the materials document not only her career but also the broader cultural and film industry shifts of the 20th century.

“For generations, Olivia de Havilland has captivated audiences with her authentic performances,” said Stephen Enniss, the Betty Brumbalow Director of the Ransom Center. “Her archive documents her fight for agency and autonomy in an era dominated by the studio system and also informs our understanding of stardom and celebrity in the Golden Age of Hollywood. For years to come, her star will always shine bright at the Harry Ransom Center.”

The archive includes extensive professional papers such as contracts, correspondence, scripts, and photographs related to her many films, including such classics as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Gone With the Wind (1939), The Snake Pit (1948), and her Academy Award–winning roles in To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949). Additional materials cover her work in radio, theatre, and television. Olivia de Havilland’s archive was generously donated to the Ransom Center by her daughter, Gisèle Galante Chulack.

“I am pleased to honor my mother’s wishes with this donation to the Harry Ransom Center, as she thought it would be the perfect repository for her unique archive,” said Galante Chulack. “Not only is it one of the most respected research institutions in the world, but also she had connections to Texas through her son, my half-brother, Benjamin Briggs Goodrich, who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and whose ancestor, on his father’s side, signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.”

Also present are personal and fan correspondence, family documents, scrapbooks, and autobiographical writings, as well as materials documenting her contributions to military entertainment services during World War II and her engagement with organizations such as the Screen Actors Guild.

A defining component of the collection is documentation of de Havilland’s groundbreaking 1943 legal battle with Warner Bros. The California judicial ruling that followed—now known as the “De Havilland Decision”—curtailed the restrictive studio contract system and transformed labor rights for performers.

Film historian and critic Leonard Maltin emphasized the significance of the acquisition, noting: “Olivia de Havilland was one of the shining stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. I was fortunate enough to interview her but the film scholars of today and tomorrow no longer have that privilege. The material deposited at the Harry Ransom Center offers the next best option: being able to chart her life and career from her own collection of papers, correspondence, and memorabilia. I can’t wait to dive in myself.”

The Olivia de Havilland Papers strengthen the Ransom Center’s distinguished film collections, which include the papers of Robert De Niro, Gloria Swanson, David O. Selznick, Ernest Lehman, and others. The archive will be available to researchers once cataloging is complete.