Maureen O'Hara

Maureen FitzSimons (17 August 1920 - 24 Oct 2015) was an Irish actor, singer and performer who gained fame in Hollywood during the 1940s through 1960s. Naturally redheaded, she was famous for her work as a shrewd and empathetic heroine. Her roles were often in Westerns or adventure films. Her star potential was first discovered by the actor Charles Laughton, who brought her to Hollywood and many times, she worked alongside director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne. O'Hara was raised in Dublin, Ireland by a Catholic family. She was determined to become an actor at a young age. She studied with the Rathmines Theatre Company from the age of 10 and was at the Abbey Theatre beginning at 14 years old. She was given a screen trial and was found to be unsatisfactory However, Charles Laughton sawa potential, and suggested that she perform alongside him in Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn in 1939. She moved to Hollywood the following year to join him in the film The Hunchback of Notre Dame which was then awarded an agreement by RKO Pictures. She enjoyed an impressive, long-running career, and was dubbed "the Queen of Technicolor". She was in films such as How Green Was My Valley (1941) (her first collaboration with John Ford), The Black Swan with Tyrone Power (1942), The Spanish Main (1945), Sinbad the Sailor (1947), the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947) with John Payne and Natalie Wood, and Comanche Territory (1950). O'Hara filmed her first film in collaboration with John Wayne, the actor with whom she is closely involved in Rio Grande (1950). The Quiet Man (1952), The Wings of Eagles (57) and McLintock were followed by McLintock. (1963) and Big Jake (2001). There was a widespread assumption that Wayne and O'Hara had an affair or were married due to their close chemistry. O'Hara started to play more of a motherly role in the 60s as she became older. She was in films like The Deadly Companions (1961), The Parent Trap (611) and The Rare Breed (1966). She resigned from the business in 1971, but returned 20 years later together with John Candy in Only the Lonely (1991).