Joan Fontaine, Oscar-winning actress who died at 96, was much more than just Olivia de Havilland's sister

Joan Fontaine once expressed gratitude to George Cukor — who directed her in 1939's "The Women" — for giving her crucial advice as an actress: "Think and feel, and the rest will take care of itself."

It's easy to see the impact of that suggestion: the next year, Fontaine earned her first Oscar nomination for her wrenchingly open performance in Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca" (1940). As a newlywed anxious to be the ideal bride, she radiates an unburnished innocence that instantly pulls us into her desperate circumstances. And it's this utterly convincing purity that makes the character's eventual transformation so impactful.

Hitchcock used her the following year in similar, and equally effective, manner for 1941's "Suspicion." Once again a naïve young bride, she falls for Cary Grant's cheating charmer; once again, she surprises us with a strength of character we hadn't expected. This time, Fontaine walked away with an Academy Award.

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Fontaine (pictured with fellow Oscar winner Gary Cooper) holds her Academy Award for Best Actress for her turn in ‘Suspicion’ in February 1942.

Married four times in real life, she regularly found herself drawn to troubled romances on-screen. She fell in love with Tyrone Power's AWOL soldier in "This Above All" (1942), earned her third Oscar nomination for the love triangle of "The Constant Nymph" (1943) and conducted a tormented relationship with Joseph Cotten's businessman in "September Affair" (1950).

As she got older, Fontaine used a harder edge to play convincing femme fatales in films like "Born to be Bad" (1950) and "Serenade" (1956), but she did best when exuding inexperienced vulnerability. This may be why most of the highlights of her career can be found in the 1940s, though she worked regularly until the mid-1990s. (The later projects were mostly in television.)

That early peak may also account for the fact that today, she's perhaps best known among younger audiences as the bitterly estranged sister of Olivia de Havilland. In 1942, they became the first siblings to be nominated for Oscars in the same year. Fontaine won for "Suspicion," de Havilland lost for "Hold Back the Dawn," and they never truly reconciled.

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Fontaine shares a scene with Orson Welles in 1944’s ‘Jane Eyre.’

It would be a shame, however, if that off-screen feud overshadowed Fontaine's professional accomplishments. Even in an era that embraced romantic melodrama, her characters were put through the wringer more than most. That viewers repeatedly embraced her heartache reflects her uncanny ability to think about how love makes women feel.

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"Rebecca" (1940)

Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson in scene from movie ‘Rebecca.’

The relatively inexperienced Fontaine beat out several formidable stars (including Vivien Leigh and Loretta Young) to play the second Mrs. de Winter for Alfred Hitchcock. The film won Best Picture, and many felt Fontaine was robbed of the Best Actress award (Ginger Rogers took it for "Kitty Foyle").

"Suspicion" (1941)

Hitchcock knew how perfect she was as an innocent ingénue, so he hired her to play the role again immediately. This time, she won the Oscar — and became the only one of Hitchcock's leading ladies ever to do so.

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The British-born Fontaine (pictured in 1945), was the sister of Olivia De Havilland.

"The Constant Nymph" (1943)

Though long-forgotten and hard to find (try TCM, late at night), Edmund Goulding's romantic drama was one of Fontaine's favorites. She plays a sickly young woman who is madly in love with musician Charles Boyer, despite the fact that he's married to her far-more-sophisticated cousin (Alexis Smith).

"Jane Eyre" (1943)

Charlotte Bronte's classic romance has been remade many times, but this remains one of the most memorable adaptations. To a large extent, we can thank co-star Orson Welles, who took it upon himself to share copious advice with director Robert Stevenson. Still, it's Fontaine — working well within her specialty as a governess who falls for her tormented boss (Welles) — who draws us in.

"Letter From an Unknown Woman" (1948)

Perhaps the most romantic, and melodramatic, of Fontaine's finest films. Max Ophüls directed this heartbreaker, in which she plays an ill-fated woman who finally confesses her longtime love for pianist Louis Jourdan.