Joan Fontaine dies in California at 96

Joan Fontaine, best known for psychological thrillers produced by Alfred Hitchcock, has died in California at the age of 96, her friend Noel Beutel said.

The Oscar-winning actress – whose real name is Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland – died in her sleep on Sunday in her home in Carmel.

Born in Japan to British parents, Joan and her older sister Olivia de Havilland moved to the US to pursue acting careers.

Joan Fontaine won an Oscar as a vulnerable wife in the movie Suspicion in 1942.

Alfred Hitchcock also cast Joan Fontaine in the lead role in his first Hollywood work Rebecca.

Her other films included The Constant Nymph, Jane Eyre and Letter from an Unknown Woman.

Joan Fontaine’s four marriages ended in divorce and her constant and lifelong feud with her sister was a Hollywood legend.