Maureen O’Hara

Dazzling Maureen O’Hara as featured in the 1945 swashbuckler film THE SPANISH MAIN. Born on August 17, 1920, in Ranelagh, Ireland, Maureen grew up in a Catholic family and aspired to become an actress from a very young age. She trained with the Rathmines Theatre Company from the age of 10 and at the Abbey Theatre from the age of 14. She was given a screen test, which was deemed unsatisfactory, but Charles Laughton saw potential and arranged for her to co-star with him in Alfred Hitchcock's "Jamaica Inn" in 1939. She moved to Hollywood the same year to appear with him in the production of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939), 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". She appeared in films such as "How Green Was My Valley" (1941), "The Black Swan" with Tyrone Power (1942), "The Spanish Main" (1945), "Sinbad the Sailor" (1947), the Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947) and "Comanche Territory" (1950). Her first of many films with John Wayne was in "Rio Grande" (1950), followed by "The Quiet Man" (1952), "The Wings of Eagles" (1957), "McLintock!" (1963) and "Big Jake" (1971). In the 1960s Maureen increasingly turned to more motherly roles as she aged, appearing in films such as "The Deadly Companions" (1961), "The Parent Trap" (1961) and "The Rare Breed" (1966). She retired from the industry in 1971 but returned 20 years later to appear with John Candy in "Only the Lonely" (1991). In March 1999, she was selected to be Grand Marshal of New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade and in 2004, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Irish Film and Television Academy in her native Dublin. The same year, she released her autobiography “Tis Herself” and in 2011 was formally inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame. On 24th October 2015, Maureen passed in her sleep at her home in Boise, Idaho from natural causes (aged 95).

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