What can you tell me about the life and times of Maureen O’Hara?
—Karen M., Kansas
The beautiful red-haired actress, who turns 84 this month, was born Maureen FitzSimons near Dublin, Ireland. By 14, she was winning drama contests, and she made her U.S. acting debut in 1939’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Though her last film was the 2000 TV offering The Last Dance, in 2004 she published her autobiography, ‘Tis Herself. O’Hara was a favorite of director John Ford and actor John Wayne, with whom she made five pictures. “The Duke” gave her a cherished compliment: “He said I was the greatest guy he ever knew,” she says. O’Hara lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., with her grandson.
