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A Legend Leaves Us.
Film Star Maureen O’Hara Dies at 95

duke and mo Born on August 17, 1920 in Ireland, Maureen O’Hara, known for her stunning, red hair, lit up the big screen during Hollywood’s Golden Age, and for decades after. Today, INSP mourns the loss of this great film star, whose movies we’ve been privileged to feature: “The Rare Breed,” “McClintock!,” and “The Christmas Box,” in which she stars with Richard Thomas of “The Waltons” fame.

Born Maureen FitzSimmons, the second oldest of six siblings, O’Hara was drawn to the arts from a very young age. From the age of six to seventeen she studied drama, music and dance, and at ten, became a member of a theater company. After an unsuccessful film test in the late 1930s, O’Hara wanted nothing to do with movies, preferring to act on the stage, but, actor Charles Laughton saw something in the test no one else could see, a spark in her eyes, and a legend was born. She played strong-willed, fiery, feisty women in her youth, and later in life, complex, deep, grounded and dependable characters— all reflective of the woman she was in life.

A statement released by the family reads, “Maureen was our loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She passed peacefully surrounded by her loving family as they celebrated her life…”

O’Hara passed away in her sleep at home in Idaho. She is survived by her daughter, a grandson and two great-grandchildren.

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