Her victory helped bring an end to the studio system, and redefined the business of moviemaking.
Following the lawsuit, she began to take on more powerful roles, including 1946’s To Each His Own for which she won an Acadamey Award, along with her tough performance in the 1948 film The Snake Pit.
She made the switch to television in the 1980s, earning a Golden Globe for her role in the TV movie Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna.
And she was fiercely political – fighting against extremism on both sides of the spectrum.
Her final TV movie role was as Aunt Bessie Merryman in The Woman He Loved in 1988, but following retirement she was frequently invited to make lecture tours on the film.
In 2008, aged 92, she was conferred the National Medal of Arts by President George W Bush.
In 2010, she received another state honour, this time in France, where President Nicolas Sarkozy made her a Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur. He told the actress: “You honour France for having chosen us.”
In June 2017, two weeks before her 101st birthday, Olivia was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to drama by the Queen. She remains the oldest woman ever to receive the honour.