Hollywood has lost a true legend. Maureen O’Hara, an actress who starred in such films as How Green Was My Valley, Miracle on 34th Street, and The Parent Trap, died at her home in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday, Oct. 24, her family confirmed in a statement to The Irish Times.
“It is with a sad heart that we share the news that Maureen O’Hara passed away today in her sleep of natural causes,” her family said. “She passed peacefully surrounded by her loving family as they celebrated her life listening to music from her favorite movie, The Quiet Man.”
The FitzSimons family added that the revered actress brought “unyielding strength and sudden sensitivity to every role she played.”
O’Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons), who was born in Ireland but moved to Hollywood to star in 1939’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, was nicknamed the Queen of Technicolor due to her bright red hair and fiery nature.
In 1941, O’Hara played a memorable role opposite John Wayne in How Green Was My Valley, a film that went on to win five Oscars, including best picture and best director, besting Hollywood legend Orson Welles and his film Citizen Kane.
Other films that O’Hara can add to her claim to fame include 1950’s Rio Grande (in which she also costarred with Wayne), Against All Flags, and The Parent Trap.
After 1971, the actress went on a nearly 20-year hiatus from acting before returning to the big screen to play John Candy’s overbearing Irish mother in Only the Lonely.
She was awarded an honorary Oscar at the 2014 ceremonies.
O’Hara is survived by her daughter, Bronwyn FitzSimons; her grandson, Conor FitzSimons, and her two great-grandchildren.
