Maureen O'Hara

Maureen FitzSimons (17 August 1920 - - 24 October 15th, 2015) was an Irish actor, singer and actor who rose to fame in Hollywood from the 1940s to the 1960s. Naturally redheaded, she was famous for her work as the likable and passionate heroines. She was often seen in Westerns or in adventure films. Charles Laughton was the first to notice her star power and brought her to Hollywood. She also had numerous collaborations with John Ford and John Wayne an old friend and director. O'Hara was born and was raised in Dublin, Ireland, in a Catholic family. She aspired to become an actress at an early age. When she was 10 years old, she began her training at the Rathmines Theatre Company and the Abbey Theatre. She was offered a screen test that was rejected as unsatisfactory however Charles Laughton saw potential, and suggested that she be a co-star in Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn in 1939. RKO Pictures gave her a contract. From her first film, she went on to have a lengthy and extremely successful career which earned her the moniker "the Queen of Technicolor". Her films include How Green Was My Valley (1941), her first collaboration with John Ford, The Black Swan (1942), The Spanish Main (1945), Sinbad the Sailor (47) and the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947), and Comanche Territory (1950). O'Hara starred in Rio Grande (1950) as O'Hara, a character played by John Wayne, her most close friend. The Quiet Man (1952), The Wings of Eagles (57), and McLintock was followed by McLintock. (1963), as well as Big Jake (2001). She had such a strong bond with Wayne that many assumed they were engaged. In the 1960s, she turned to more motherly roles as she grew older. She appeared in films like The Deadly Companions (1961), The Parent Trap (1961) as well as The Rare Breed (1966). O'Hara quit the industry in 1971. The actress returned to the business twenty years later, appearing with John Candy (1991).