Maureen O'Hara, the Irish actress dubbed the 'Queen of Technicolor,' was 32 years old on the release of John Ford's classic “The Quiet Man” in 1952. Already established as a well-respected actress, this was far from the first time that O’Hara had worked with her leading man John Wayne or the director Ford, often being cast opposite “The Duke,” while Ford’s obsession with her beauty meant that he cast her as the leading lady in many of his films. Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish! Here are the answers to some of the most asked questions about the famed red-headed star.
.. Maureen O'Hara in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' in 1939 (Getty Images) Born in Ranelagh in Dublin City on August 17, 1920, Maureen O’Hara and her five siblings showed their talent from a very young age.
Training at the famed Abbey Theatre from her teens, Maureen’s dream was initially to be an opera singer. Despite being made to go to business college by her ever-practical father, Maureen was discovered at just 17 years of age by famed English actor Charles Laughton and earned her one-way ticket to Hollywood in the 1939 film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame." She is probably best known, however, for playing the iconic Mary Kate Danaher in “The Quiet Man,” the character that truly brought her into Irish acting royalty and just one of the five films in which she starred opposite Western legend, John Wayne .
Determined not to rely on her beauty, O'Hara .