Wiki Biography
Maureen FitzSimons was born on 17th August 1920, in Dublin, Ireland. As Maureen O’Hara, she was an Irish-American actress and singer, famous for her films made in the Golden Age of Hollywood. People remember her as John Wayne’s partner in “The Quiet Man” and for her role in “Miracle on 34th Street”. The actress died on 24th October 2015, at the age of 95.
So just how rich was Maureen O’Hara? The media has estimated Maureen’s net worth at $10 million. Most of the money was made in the film industry, the actress being cast in more than 60 films, both on television and the big screen. She added further money to her income from her business, a clothing store in Tarzana, Los Angeles, launched in 1940.
Maureen O’Hara Net Worth $10 Million
Maureen started performing with the Rathmines Theatre Company when she was just 10, and managed to enter Abbey Theater at the age of 14. Performing from such a young age, she succeeded in developing her abilities in classical theater and singing. Soon after, she was ‘discovered’ by Charles Laughton, who changed her name to Maureen O’Hara and gave her a role in the film “Jamaica Inn”.
In the same year of 1939, the actress moved to the US to make another film, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. Her success helped her change her contract and she signed with RKO Pictures. After her first two films, 20th Century Fox managed to cast her in the 1941 film “How Green Was My Valley”, which ended with Maureen O’Hara’s contract shared between RKO and Fox. She continued to play various roles for more than 60 years, starring in films like “Rio Grande”, “The Quiet Man”, “The Parent Trap”, “A Cry of Angels”, “How Do I Love Thee?”, and “Big Jake”. She made appearances in the television series “The DuPont Show of the Month”, “The Garry Moore Show”, and “Off to See the Wizard”. Her red hair and attractive features saw her receive the name “Queen of Technicolor”.
In 1991, Maureen O’Hara played Rose Muldoon in the film “Only the Lonely” and she had roles in three other television movies, “The Christmas Box”, “Cab to Canada”, and “The Last Dance”, the last being made in 2000. Her net worth was still rising.
Maureen O’Hara was also a good singer. Between 1940 and 1960, she used her voice to record various songs featured on the soundtracks of films, such as “A Woman’s Secret”, “Do You Love Me”, “The Deadly Companions”, and “Spencer’s Mountain”. She also released two recordings, “Maureen O’Hara Sings her Favorite Irish Songs” and “Love Letters from Maureen O’Hara”, all of which contributed something to her net worth.
Besides her film career, she also appeared on stage, having parts in the plays “Christine”, performed on Broadway, and “My Indian Family”, at 46th Street Theatre.
O’Hara was rewarded with a Golden Boot award, the 2004 Irish Film and Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2014 Honorary Academy Award. The actress also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Maureen O’Hara made millions from her films in over 60 years in the movie industry. Besides her acting career, she had her own travel magazine between 1976 and 1980, and she was the CEO of an airline company, after her third husband’s death. Her property in Ireland was sold in 2014 for $2.3 million; Lugdine Park included a coastal home, two islands, and a private beach, together with 35 acres of land outside the town of Glengarriff.
Maureen O’Hara was married three times, to George Hanley Brown, between 1938 and 1941, to William Price, from 1941 to 1953, and to Charles F. Blair, from 1968 until 1978, when he died in a plane crash. She had a daughter from her second marriage.
| Full Name | Maureen O'Hara |
| Date Of Birth | August 17, 1920 |
| Died | October 24, 2015, Boise, Idaho, United States |
| Height | 1.73 m |
| Children | Bronwyn FitzSimons |
| IMDB | https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000058 |
| Awards | Academy Honorary Award |
| TV Shows | Backstory |
| # | Trademark |
|---|---|
| 1 | Usually played proud, strong-willing and tempermental Irish lasses |
| 2 | Often starred with John Wayne |
| 3 | Often worked with director John Ford |
| 4 | Red hair and green eyes |
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | [on being asked what her most marked characteristic was] The hell and fire in me. They came as a set. |
| 2 | [on some of the leading men she worked with] I enjoyed James Stewart, I enjoyed Brian Keith and I enjoyed Henry Fonda. Jeff Chandler was a nice man but a bad actor. |
| 3 | [on Sam Peckinpah, who directed her in The Deadly Companions (1961)] I didn't enjoy Sam at all. I have to be honest. I didn't think he was a very good director. I think he was lucky that whatever happened in his career happened. I think it was luck, not talent. I'm sorry. You have to forgive me. He was not a good director and if his films turned out successful, that was luck... and people protecting him, like the cameramen and the producers. Different people protecting him made him look good. |
| 4 | How could you have had such a wonderful life as me if there wasn't a God directing? |
| 5 | [When being handed her honorary Oscar] I only hope it's silver or gold and not like a spoon out of the kitchen. |
| 6 | [2010, her advice to young people wanting a career in drama] If you really want it, go after it--and learn how to speak properly, for God's sake! |
| 7 | I made John Wayne sexy. I take credit for that. |
| 8 | [reacting to the heavy make-up she had to wear for her first screen test] I looked like Mata Hari! |
| 9 | I spent a great deal of time with Ernesto 'Che' Guevara while I was in Havana. I feel he was less a mercenary than he was a freedom fighter. |
| 10 | [on John Garfield]: He was my shortest leading man, an outspoken Communist and a real sweetheart. |
| 11 | Comedy is quite difficult, you have to be able to have fun and portray that sense of fun to the audience watching you. |
| 12 | Every star has that certain something that stands out and compels us to notice them. As for me I have always believed my most compelling quality to be my inner strength, something I am easily able to share with an audience. I'm very comfortable in my own skin. I never thought my looks would have anything to do with becoming a star. Yet it seems that in some ways they did. |
| 13 | [on John Ford's style of directing] Today most directors--not all, but most directors--are in another room watching the actors on a television screen. There are no connections with the actors, which is a shame, because John Ford connected with his cast. |
| 14 | I'm very lucky I really had some wonderful movies. |
| 15 | [on John Ford] I think he was a bitterly disappointed man. More than anything he wanted to be in Ireland or be a military hero. So every so often his anger would spill out and whoever was closest got the brunt of his anger. |
| 16 | I was talking to a director I knew and [John Ford] just turned around and punched me on the jaw. There was no reason or explanation, and I walked straight out of the house and vowed I'd never speak to him again. Of course, I did, but it took a while. He never apologized and I never found out why he hit me. |
| 17 | Charles Laughton and his wife, Elsa Lanchester, were never blessed with children. Years after he died, Elsa wrote her autobiography and claimed they never had children because Laughton was homosexual. That's rubbish. Whether or nor Laughton was gay would never have stopped him from having children. He wanted them too badly. Laughton told me the reason they never had children was because Elsa couldn't conceive, the result of a botched abortion she'd had during her earlier days in burlesque. Laughton told me many times that not being a father was his greatest disappointment in life. |
| 18 | To the people throughout the world, John Wayne is not just an actor, and a very fine actor--John Wayne is the United States of America. |
| 19 | Speaking as an actress, I wish all actors would be more like Duke [John Wayne]--and speaking as a person, it would be nice if all people could be honest and as genuine as he is. This is a real man. |
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | Inducted into the Hair Fan's Hall of Fame in 2008. |
| 2 | Buried at Arlington Cemetery, besides her late husband Charles Blair, who was a great military officer. |
| 3 | She was the last credited cast member of Miracle on 34th Street (1947) to pass away on October 24, 2015. |
| 4 | Had two great-grandchildren, Bailey and Everest, via grandson C. Beau Fitzsimons. |
| 5 | She was the second actress, after Myrna Loy (in 1991), to receive an honorary Academy Award without ever having been nominated previously. |
| 6 | Her first screen test was for a British film called The Playboy (1938) at Elstree Studios. It was arranged by American bandleader Harry Richman, who was then appearing in Dublin. Despite her hating the experience ("I looked like Mata Hari") and Charles Laughton's opinion that it was awful, he signed her to a contract. RKO Radio Pictures later purchased her contract from him and later sold part of it to 20th Century-Fox. |
| 7 | Had starred with Anthony Quinn in six films: The Black Swan (1942), Buffalo Bill (1944), Sinbad, the Sailor (1947), Against All Flags (1952), The Magnificent Matador (1955) and Only the Lonely (1991). |
| 8 | Appeared at Macy's department store 34th Street in New York City to promote her book "'Tis Herself". Macy's was the main setting for one of her best-known films, from 57 years before: Miracle on 34th Street (1947). [March 2004] |
| 9 | Resided with her grandson, C. Beau Fitzsimons, and his family in Boise, Idaho. |
| 10 | Acting mentor was Charles Laughton. |
| 11 | Received a degree from the Guild School of Music in London and became part of the Abbey Theater in Dublin when she was 14, winning the All-Ireland Cup at 16 for her portrayal of Portia in "The Merchant of Venice", by William Shakespeare. |
| 12 | Received an honorary doctorate from University College in Galway, Ireland (1988). |
| 13 | After being signed by Erich Pommer and Charles Laughton, it was thought that the unusual spelling of her last name--FitzSimons--would be a problem, so they gave her the choice of O'Hara or O'Mara. |
| 14 | She was a staunch conservative Republican and over time has supported the Presidencies of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush. |
| 15 | As one of six, Maureen was raised with her siblings at 32 Upper Beechwood Avenue in Dublin's Ranelagh district. |
| 16 | Was John Wayne's favorite actress and he considered her a real friend, the only woman he thought of in that way. When he lay dying in his hospital bed, he watched on television as Maureen petitioned Congress to give him a Congressional Gold Medal, which they did by a unanimous vote. |
| 17 | Was good friends with Ginger Rogers, Anne Baxter, Lucille Ball,Lauren Bacall, Anna Lee, Robert Mitchum, Anthony Quinn, Stuart Whitman and French actress Irina Demick. |
| 18 | She lost her husband, Charles Blair (September 2, 1978), and her best friend John Wayne (June 11, 1979) just nine months apart. |
| 19 | Had a second career after retiring, as a successful magazine publisher; one of the reasons was to help keep her from becoming bored after retirement. |
| 20 | In the early 1940s, she was one of the actresses invited to the White House for a benefit dinner. She sat right next to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. |
| 21 | Aunt of Charles F. FitzSimons. |
| 22 | Grandmother of C. Beau Fitzsimons, son of her daughter Bronwyn. |
| 23 | She was originally cast as Isabel Bradley in The Razor's Edge (1946), but was pulled from the cast by Darryl F. Zanuck, and replaced by Gene Tierney. Zanuck would soon cast her in the classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947). |
| 24 | She became an American citizen on January 25, 1946 but has retained her Irish citizenship. It was the first time in history that the United States government recognized an Irish citizen as Irish. This led to a change in process for all Irish immigrants. |
| 25 | She was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of her outstanding contribution to film culture. |
| 26 | She made headlines in 1997 by claiming that Brian Keith's suicide, while suffering from lung cancer and emphysema and mourning the suicide of his daughter, was an accident. |
| 27 | In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by Lidia Simoneschi. She was occasionally dubbed by Dhia Cristiani, most notably in Sitting Pretty (1948); by Rosetta Calavetta and once by Paola Barbara in the multi Oscar-winning How Green Was My Valley (1941). |
| 28 | She and John Wayne remained friends until his death. In her home on St. Croix, she had a wing she called the John Wayne Wing because he stayed there when visiting. It was badly damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, some ten years after Wayne's death. |
| 29 | She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7004 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960. |
| 30 | She was born in Churchtown, then a suburb, now a part of metropolitan of Dublin, Ireland. |
| 31 | She was having lunch with actress Lucille Ball the moment Lucy first saw Cuban musician Desi Arnaz, whom she later married. |
| 32 | She was the first choice to play Anna in the film version of The King and I (1956) but Richard Rodgers did not want the role played by a "pirate queen". |
| 33 | Favorite actress of director John Ford. |
| 34 | Had starred with John Wayne in five films: Rio Grande (1950), The Quiet Man (1952), The Wings of Eagles (1957), McLintock! (1963) and Big Jake (1971). In all five, Wayne and O'Hara played husband and wife and, in all five, they were estranged at least briefly. The first three were directed by John Ford. |
| 35 | Brought to Hollywoood by legendary actor, director, producer Charles Laughton, who originally signed her to a personal services performing contract, meaning she was signed to Laughton, instead of to a studio, as was common at that time. |
| 36 | Performed many of her own stunts in her films, rare for an actress at that time. |
| 37 | Gave birth to her only child at age 23, a daughter Bronwyn Brigid Price (aka Bronwyn FitzSimons) on June 30, 1944. Her daughter's father was her second husband, later ex-husband, William Houston Price (aka Will Price). |
| 38 | Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1993. |
| 39 | Crack typist who typed some of her own scripts/rewrites. |
| 40 | Siblings: Peggy FitzSimons (a Sisters of Charity nun); television/film producer Charles B. Fitzsimons (now deceased); actress Florrie FitzSimons (aka Clare Hamilton) (now deceased); Margot Fitzsimons; and actor James FitzSimons (aka James O'Hara) (now deceased). |
Actress
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| War Arrow | 1953 | Elaine Corwin | |
| The Redhead from Wyoming | 1953 | Kate Maxwell | |
| Against All Flags | 1952 | Prudence 'Spitfire' Stevens | |
| The Quiet Man | 1952 | Mary Kate Danaher | |
| Kangaroo | 1952 | Dell McGuire | |
| At Sword's Point | 1952 | Claire - daughter of Athos | |
| Flame of Araby | 1951 | Princess Tanya | |
| Tripoli | 1950 | Countess D'Arneau | |
| Rio Grande | 1950 | Mrs. Kathleen Yorke | |
| Comanche Territory | 1950 | Katie Howard | |
| Bagdad | 1949 | Princess Marjan | |
| Father Was a Fullback | 1949 | Elizabeth Cooper | |
| The Forbidden Street | 1949 | Adelaide 'Addie' Culver | |
| A Woman's Secret | 1949 | Marian Washburn | |
| Sitting Pretty | 1948 | Tacey King | |
| The Foxes of Harrow | 1947 | Odalie 'Lilli' D'Arceneaux | |
| Miracle on 34th Street | 1947 | Doris Walker | |
| The Homestretch | 1947 | Leslie Hale | |
| Sinbad, the Sailor | 1947 | Shireen | |
| Do You Love Me | 1946 | Katherine 'Kitten' Hilliard | |
| Sentimental Journey | 1946 | Julie Beck Weatherly | |
| The Spanish Main | 1945 | Contessa Francesca | |
| Buffalo Bill | 1944 | Louisa Frederici Cody | |
| The Fallen Sparrow | 1943 | Toni Donne | |
| This Land Is Mine | 1943 | Louise Martin | |
| Immortal Sergeant | 1943 | Valentine Lee | |
| The Black Swan | 1942 | Lady Margaret Denby | |
| Ten Gentlemen from West Point | 1942 | Carolyn Bainbridge | |
| To the Shores of Tripoli | 1942 | Lt. Mary Carter | |
| How Green Was My Valley | 1941 | Angharad | |
| They Met in Argentina | 1941 | Lolita O'Shea | |
| Dance, Girl, Dance | 1940 | Judy O'Brien | |
| A Bill of Divorcement | 1940 | Sydney Fairfield | |
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | 1939 | Esmeralda | |
| Jamaica Inn | 1939 | Mary Yellan | |
| Little Miss Molly | 1938 | Eileen O'Shea (as Maureen FitzSimons) | |
| The Playboy | 1938 | Secretary (as Maureen FitzSimons) | |
| The Last Dance | 2000 | TV Movie | Helen Parker |
| Cab to Canada | 1998 | TV Movie | Katherine Eure |
| The Christmas Box | 1995 | TV Movie | Mary Parkin (Mrs. Parkin) |
| Only the Lonely | 1991 | Rose Muldoon | |
| The Red Pony | 1973 | TV Movie | Ruth Tiflin |
| Big Jake | 1971 | Martha McCandles | |
| How Do I Love Thee? | 1970 | Elsie Waltz | |
| Off to See the Wizard | 1967 | TV Series | Mother Goose |
| The Garry Moore Show | 1966 | TV Series | Sara Longstreet |
| The Rare Breed | 1966 | Martha Price | |
| The Battle of the Villa Fiorita | 1965 | Moira | |
| A Cry of Angels | 1963 | TV Movie | Susanna Cibber |
| McLintock! | 1963 | Katherine Gilhooley McLintock | |
| Spencer's Mountain | 1963 | Olivia Spencer | |
| Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation | 1962 | Peggy Hobbs | |
| Theatre '62 | 1962 | TV Series | |
| The Parent Trap | 1961 | Maggie McKendrick | |
| The Deadly Companions | 1961 | Kit Tildon | |
| The DuPont Show of the Month | 1960 | TV Series | Lady Marguerite Blakeney |
| Mrs. Miniver | 1960 | TV Movie | Mrs. Miniver |
| Our Man in Havana | 1959 | Beatrice Severn | |
| The Wings of Eagles | 1957 | Min Wead | |
| Everything But the Truth | 1956 | Joan Madison | |
| Lisbon | 1956 | Sylvia Merrill | |
| Lady Godiva of Coventry | 1955 | Lady Godiva | |
| The Magnificent Matador | 1955 | Karen Harrison | |
| The Long Gray Line | 1955 | Mary O'Donnell | |
| Malaga | 1954 | Joanna Dana |
Soundtrack
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer's Mountain | 1963 | performer: "In the Garden" - uncredited | |
| The Parent Trap | 1961 | performer: "For Now for Always" 1961 | |
| The Deadly Companions | 1961 | performer: "Title Song" | |
| The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show | 1959 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
| The Quiet Man | 1952 | "The Isle of Innisfree" 1950, uncredited / performer: "The Young May Moon", "The Isle of Innisfree" 1950 - uncredited | |
| Bagdad | 1949 | performer: "Bagdad", "Love Is Strange", "Song of the Desert" | |
| A Woman's Secret | 1949 | performer: "Let Him Go, Let Him Tarry", "Paradise" - uncredited | |
| Do You Love Me | 1946 | performer: "MOONLIGHT PROPAGANDA" - uncredited | |
| They Met in Argentina | 1941 | performer: "Cutting the Cane" - uncredited |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Parent Trap: Caught in the Act | 2002 | Video documentary short special thanks | |
| Dieter & Andreas | 1989 | Short grateful acknowledgment |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dreaming the Quiet Man | 2010 | Documentary | Herself |
| Kelly | 2005 | TV Series | Herself |
| 2nd Irish Film and Television Awards | 2004 | TV Special | Herself - Winner: Lifetime Achievement Award |
| The Late Late Show | 2004 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| Richard & Judy | 2004 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| Biography | 1993-2003 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| 9th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2003 | TV Special | Herself |
| The Quiet Man: The Joy of Ireland | 2002 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions: America's Greatest Love Stories | 2002 | TV Special documentary | Herself |
| The Parent Trap: Caught in the Act | 2002 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| Backstory | 2000-2001 | TV Series documentary | Herself / Herself - Actress |
| Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood | 2001 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| A Century of Cinema | 1994 | Documentary | Herself |
| Irish Christmas | 1994 | TV Special | Herself |
| 100 Years of the Hollywood Western | 1994 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| John Ford | 1993 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| This Is Your Life | 1989-1993 | TV Series documentary | Herself / Herself (via telephone) |
| Omnibus | 1992 | TV Series documentary | Herself - Actor |
| Showbiz Today | 1991 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1963-1991 | TV Series | Herself / Herself - Guest |
| The 8th Annual American Cinema Awards | 1991 | TV Special | Herself |
| Hollywood Greats | 1984 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady | 1982 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| The 3rd Annual People's Choice Awards | 1977 | TV Special | Herself - Presenter |
| The 34th Annual Golden Globe Awards | 1977 | TV Special | Herself |
| An All-Star Tribute to John Wayne | 1976 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Ford | 1973 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| The Fabulous Fordies | 1972 | TV Special | Herself |
| The Jackie Gleason Show | 1969 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show | 1968 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| You Don't Say | 1967 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Hollywood Squares | 1967 | TV Series | Herself |
| Hollywood Talent Scouts | 1966 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Andy Williams Show | 1963-1966 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| The 22th Annual Golden Globes Awards | 1965 | TV Special | Herself - Presenter |
| The Bell Telephone Hour | 1960-1964 | TV Series | Herself - Hostess / Herself |
| The Jimmy Dean Show | 1963 | TV Series | Herself |
| The 35th Annual Academy Awards | 1963 | TV Special | Herself - Audience Member |
| The 20th Annual Golden Globes Awards | 1963 | TV Special | Herself - Presenter |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1955-1962 | TV Series | Herself - Singer / Herself - Guest |
| Today | 1955-1960 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| Startime | 1960 | TV Series | Herself |
| What's My Line? | 1959 | TV Series | Herself - Mystery Guest |
| The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show | 1959 | TV Series | Herself - Actress / Singer |
| The Bob Hope Show | 1959 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| The George Gobel Show | 1958 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| The Garry Moore Show | 1958 | TV Series | Herself |
| Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | 1958 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| The 30th Annual Academy Awards | 1958 | TV Special | Herself - Audience Member |
| The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | 1957 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| Sheilah Graham in Hollywood | 1955 | TV Series | Herself |
| Lux Video Theatre | 1955 | TV Series | Herself - Intermission Guest |
Archive Footage
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Honorary Award | Academy Awards, USA | ||
| 2011 | CinEuphoria | CinEuphoria Awards | Career - Honorary Award | |
| 2004 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Irish Film and Television Awards | ||
| 2002 | Living Treasure Award | Seattle Film Critics Awards | ||
| 1993 | BFI Fellowship | British Film Institute Awards | ||
| 1991 | Golden Boot | Golden Boot Awards | ||
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | On 8 February 1960. At 7004 Hollywood Blvd. |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Female Star | 14th place. |
| 1963 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Female Comedy Performance | Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) |
3rd Place Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Bambi | Bambi Awards | Best Actress - International | Bagdad (1949) |
Known for movies
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