Maureen O’Hara, the red-haired spirited Irish-born Fifties actress, was known to audiences for her tempestuous beauty in movies of the Forties and Fifties. She died at her home in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday at the age of 95.

Known as the Queen of Technicolor because of her red hair, green eyes and flawless complexion. She began her journey in cinema in black and white with her first Hollywood movie being “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1939) where she played Esmeralda to Charles Laughton’s Quasimodo. Other films included Oscar-winning “How Green Was My Valley” (1941), “This Land is Mine” (1943), “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) and many others.

She appeared in five movies opposite John Wayne in westerns like “Buffalo Bill” and “Rio Grande”. Wayne said of O’Hara: “I’ve had many friends, and I prefer the company of men, except for Maureen O’Hara. She is a great guy.”

She performed with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn in a career that spanned over dozens of films. Her last film was aptly titled “The Last Dance” in 2000 where she played a retired teacher. In 2004, she received an Irish Film and Television Awards lifetime achievement honor and she published an autobiography, titled “‘Tis Herself”.

O’Hara had always been proud of her Irishness. Asked why she was so beautiful, she explained: “I was Irish. I remain Irish. And Irish women don’t let themselves go.”
The great actress is survived by her daughter, a grandson, and two great-grandchildren.