Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons; 17 August 1920 - 24 October 2015) was an Irish singer and actress who made a name for herself in Hollywood throughout the 1940s to  in the 1960s. Her natural redhead look led her to be a sought-after choice for her strong and intelligent heroines in Westerns and adventure films. Charles Laughton, an actor who first saw her star-making potential, brought her to Hollywood. On numerous occasions, she also worked with John Ford, longtime friend John Wayne and John Ford. O'Hara was born in Dublin, Ireland by a Catholic family. She wanted to be an actress at an early age. She studied with the Rathmines Theatre Company from the age of 10 and at the Abbey Theatre as young as 14 years old. After getting through a screen test she was disqualified. But Charles Laughton recognized her potential and offered to have her star in Alfred Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn in 1939. RKO Pictures offered her a contract. The actress also moved to Hollywood the same year to play with the director in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She had a lengthy, highly successful career, and was dubbed "the Queen of Technicolor". In films like How Green Was My Valley (1941) it was her first collaboration with the actor, The Black Swan with Tyrone Power (1942), The Spanish Main with Sinbad the Sailor (1947), the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947) together with John Payne (and Natalie Wood) and Comanche Territory (1950), she appeared. O'Hara made her debut film with John Wayne, the actor who is closely associated in Rio Grande (1950). The Quiet Man (1952), The Wings of Eagles(57), McLintock were the subsequent films. (1963), and Big Jake (1971). Wayne was so adroit at chemistry with her that many believed they were in a marriage. O'Hara began to take on more of a motherly role in the 1960s as she got older. She was in films like The Deadly Companions (1961), The Parent Trap (611) and The Rare Breed (1966). O'Hara left the industry in 1971. The actress returned to the film industry 20 years later, starring in John Candy (1991).

 





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