Maureen O'Hara

Maureen FitzSimons, born 17 August 1920, and died 24 October 2015), was an Irish actress from Ireland. She was a popular actress in Hollywood in the 1940s and into the 1960s. A natural redhead, she was well-known as passionate and sensible heroines. Her roles were often in Westerns or in adventure films. Her star potential was first acknowledged by the actor Charles Laughton, who brought her to Hollywood and many times she worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne. O'Hara was raised in Dublin, Ireland by a Catholic family. She aspired to become an actor at a young age. O'Hara began her training in the Abbey Theatre and Rathmines Theatre Company when she was 10. After having passed a screen test she was turned down. But Charles Laughton recognized her potential and offered her star in Alfred Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn in 1939. She moved to Hollywood the following year to be a part of his in the production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and was offered the opportunity to sign a contract with RKO Pictures. Following that, she had a long and successful career. She was known as "the Queen of Technicolor". Her movies comprise How Green Was My Valley (1941) and her first film with John Ford, The Black Swan (1942), The Spanish Main (1945), Sinbad the Sailor (47) The Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947) as well as Comanche Territory (1950). O'Hara appeared in Rio Grande (1950) as O'Hara, a character played by John Wayne, her most close friend. The following films followed: The Quiet Man (1952), The Wings of Eagles (1957), McLintock! (1963), Big Jake (1971). Many assumed that Wayne and O'Hara had an affair or were married due to their intense relationship. O'Hara became more maternal as she grew older appearing in films such as The Deadly Companions (1961) as well as The Parent Trap(61) and The Rare Breed (1966). O'Hara left the industry in 1971. She returned to the film industry 20 years later, starring in John Candy (1991).