Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara, born Maureen FitzSimons (b. August 17, 1920), is an Irish-American film actress. Born in Ranelagh, County Dublin, Ireland, the famously red-headed beauty is noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne.
She came from a theatrical family and began acting at the age of 14 with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin (Ireland's National Theatre). At the age of 17 she was offered a screen test in London. Initially reluctant she was persuaded to attend. At the screen test was the actor Charles Laughton. She performed poorly in the test. However she met Charles Laughton who believed she had something. She returned to Ireland. Meanwhile Laughton looked at the test again and while he thought it was awful he couldn't forget her eyes. He told his business partner he was signing her and sent him the test tape. When he saw the tape he was furious as he believed it was a poor choice. However he came around when he to found he couldn't forget her eyes so he thought she must have something. As a result she was offered an initial seven year contract. Her first major film was to be Hitchcock's "Jamaica Inn".
In 1939 she went to the U.S. with Laughton where they both appeared in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". This is one of her most famous roles playing Esmeralda alongside Laughton's Quasimodo.
Her notable roles include:
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
- How Green Was My Valley (1941)
- The Black Swan (1942)
- This Land Is Mine (1943)
- Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
- Sitting Pretty (1948)
- Rio Grande (1950)
- The Quiet Man (1952)
- The Parent Trap (1961)
- Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)
- Only the Lonely (1991)
External links
- IMDb filmography (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000058/)