Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons 17 August 1920 - - 24 October 2015) was an Irish singer and actress who made a name for herself in Hollywood throughout the 1940s to  1960s. Redhead by nature, she was well-known as a shrewd and empathetic heroine. Her roles were often in Westerns or adventure films. Charles Laughton, an actor who first noticed her potential as a star, introduced her to Hollywood. In numerous instances she also collaborated with John Ford, longtime friend John Wayne and John Ford. O'Hara was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, in an Irish Catholic family. She aspired to become an actress from the age of a child. At the age of 10, she was trained by the Rathmines Theatre Company and the Abbey Theatre. Screen tests were given to her, but it was not satisfactory. Charles Laughton, however recognized the potential in her and set up arrangements to join him on stage in Alfred Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn (1939). RKO Pictures gave her a contract. Then, she had many years of success and a lengthy career. She was known as "the Queen of Technicolor". She was 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 appeared in Rio Grande (1950) as O'Hara with John Wayne, her most close friend. The Quiet Man (1952), The Wings of Eagles (57) and McLintock was followed by McLintock. (1963), Big Jake (1971). A lot of people believed that Wayne and O'Hara were either in marriage or in a relationship because of their rapport. O'Hara began to assume more of a motherly role in the 60s as she became older. She was in films like The Deadly Companions (1961), The Parent Trap (611) and The Rare Breed (1966). She resigned from the business in 1971, only to return 20 years later together with John Candy in Only the Lonely (1991).