Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons; 17 August 1920 - - 24 October 2015) was an Irish actress and singer, who was a star in Hollywood throughout the 1940s to  1960s. She was a natural redhead who was famous for her passion-driven yet sensible heroines in Westerns and adventure films. Her talent for stardom was first noticed by the actor Charles Laughton, who brought her to Hollywood and, many times, she worked alongside director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne. O'Hara was born and was raised in Dublin, Ireland, in an Irish Catholic family. She was aspired to be an actress from the age of a child. From the age 10 she was trained by the Rathmines Theatre Company and the Abbey Theatre. After having passed a screen test she was rejected. But Charles Laughton recognized her potential and offered to have her as a star in Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn in 1939. She relocated to Hollywood that same year to join him in the film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and was given a contract by RKO Pictures. She went on to have a long, successful career, earning her the title "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), the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947) as well as Comanche Territory (1950). She first appeared in Rio Grande (1950), together with John Wayne (the actor with whom she most closely associates). The Quiet Man (1952) The Wings of Eagles(57), McLintock were the subsequent films. (1963) as well as Big Jake (1971). Such was her strong chemistry with Wayne that many believed they were engaged. In the 1960s, O'Hara increasingly became more motherly as she grew older. She appeared in films such as The Deadly Companions (1961), The Parent Trap (1961) as well as The Rare Breed (1966). O'Hara resigned from the film industry in 1971. She returned to the film industry 20 years later, appearing in John Candy (1991).