Maureen O'Hara
Maureen FitzSimons (17 August 1920 - 24 Oct 15th, 2015) was an Irish singer, actress and performer who gained fame in Hollywood from the 1940s to the 1960s. Redhead by nature, she was famous for her work as the likable and passionate heroines. She frequently appeared in Westerns or in adventure films. Her talent for stardom was first acknowledged by the actor Charles Laughton, who brought her to Hollywood as well as on numerous occasions she collaborated alongside director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne. O'Hara was born in Dublin, Ireland by a Catholic family. She was determined to become an actor at the age of 10. She studied with the Rathmines Theatre Company from the age of 10 and was at the Abbey Theatre as young as 14 years old. After having passed a screen test she was not accepted. However, Charles Laughton recognized her potential and offered to have her role in Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn in 1939. RKO Pictures offered her a contract. The actress also moved to Hollywood that year to perform with him in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She had a long, successful career and was nicknamed "the Queen of Technicolor". Her films comprise How Green Was My Valley (1941) the first collaboration with John Ford, The Black Swan (1942), The Spanish Main (1945), Sinbad the Sailor (47) as well as the classic Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street (1947), and Comanche Territory (1950). O'Hara made her debut film with John Wayne, the actor who she is closely involved, in Rio Grande (1950). The Quiet Man (1952) The Wings of Eagles(57), McLintock were the subsequent films. (1963), Big Jake (1971). Wayne was so good in her chemistry with O'Hara that some believed they were married. O'Hara became more maternal as she got older, appearing in films such as The Deadly Companions (1961), The Parent Trap(61) and The Rare Breed (1966). In 1971, O'Hara announced her retirement from the film industry. But, she returned to the industry 20 years later , to co-star alongside John Candy in Only the Lonely (1991).




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