Maureen O'Hara biography

In 1950, O'Hara entered a new phase of her career when she was cast as John Wayne's estranged wife in John Ford's romantic Western Rio Grande. O'Hara shared great screen chemistry with Wayne and served as his leading lady in a succession of films over the next few years. Also under Ford's direction,

Wayne and O'Hara starred in the lyrical drama The Quiet Man (1952) and in the critically panned The Wings of Eagles (1957).

Singing and Comedy Roles

In the early 1960s, O'Hara shifted her career focus. She showcased her attractive singing voice in a series of television appearances, record albums, and the Broadway musical Christine (1960). Later that year, she was featured opposite Alec Guinness in the offbeat film adaptation of Graham Greene's novel Our Man In Havana. A number of lighter roles in family comedies followed, including the 1961 Hayley Mills vehicle The Parent Trap, 1962's Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (with James Stewart), and 1970's How Do I Love Thee? (with Jackie Gleason).

In 1971, O'Hara reunited with long-time friend and costar John Wayne in the comedy Big Jake (1971), which marked her last feature film in over two decades. Shortly after, O'Hara retired to St. Croix, Virgin Islands with her third husband, aviator Charles F. Blair, whom she married in 1968. Upon Blair's death in 1978, O'Hara briefly assumed her late husband's position as president of Antilles Airboats (a Caribbean commuter airline). She also wrote a general interest column for the tourist magazine The Virgin Insider.

Following a 20-year hiatus, O'Hara returned to film acting with a role in the bittersweet comedy Only the Lonely (1991). For the remainder of the 1990s, she landed parts in a string of television movies, including The Christmas Box (1995) and Cab to Canada (1998). Most recently, she starred as a retired high school teacher in the TV movie The Last Dance (2000).

O'Hara was briefly married to George Hanley Brown in 1938 (their marriage was annulled in 1941). Later that year, she wed director William Price. The couple had a daughter, Bronwyn Price, before they divorced in 1953. O'Hara's third marriage to aviator Charles F. Blair ended tragically when Blair died in a plane crash on September 2, 1978. Blair held the notable distinction of being the first pilot to make a solo flight over the Arctic Ocean and the North Pole.

© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.