Maureen O'Hara

 Maureen O'Hara, born Maureen FitzSimons (August 17, 1920 – October 24, 2015)

The famously red-headed O'Hara was known for her beauty and playing fiercely passionate but sensible heroines, often in westerns and adventure films. She worked on numerous occasions with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne, and was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. She moved to Hollywood in 1939 to appear in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and was given a contract by RKO Pictures. From there, she went on to enjoy a long and highly successful career, and acquired the nickname "The Queen of Technicolor", something which she detested, believing that people saw her only for her beauty rather than talent. O'Hara gained a reputation in Hollywood for bossiness and prudishness, avoiding the partying lifestyle. She appeared 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 made her first film with Ford and Wayne, the actor with whom she is most closely associated, with Rio Grande (1950). This was followed by The Quiet Man (1952), her best known film, and The Wings of Eagles (1957), by which time her relationship with Ford had deteriorated. Such was her strong chemistry with Wayne that many assumed they were married or in a relationship. On October 24, 2015, Maureen O'Hara died in her sleep at her home in Boise, Idaho from natural causes, at age 95. She is interred at Arlington National Cemetery, next to her late husband Charles Blair.