Maureen O'Sullivan

Maureen O'Sullivan

actress, soundtrack

Maureen O'Sullivan was born on May 17, 1911 in Ireland. Maureen O'Sullivan's big-screen debut came with So This Is London directed by John G. Blystone in 1930. Maureen O'Sullivan is known for The Habitation of Dragons directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Brad Davis stars as George Tolliver and Frederic Forrest as Leonard Tolliver. Maureen O'Sullivan has got 1 awards and 2 nominations so far. The most recent award Maureen O'Sullivan achieved is Walk of Fame. The upcoming new movie Maureen O'Sullivan plays is Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is which will be released on Feb 18, 1994.

Of Irish, English, and Scottish descent, Maureen Paula O'Sullivan was born on May 17, 1911 in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. Her father was Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in the Connaught Rangers, and his wife, the former Mary Fraser (or Frazer). She was educated at Catholic schools in Dublin, Paris, and London (Convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton, where a fellow student was fellow future actress Vivien Leigh). Even as a schoolgirl, Maureen desired an acting career, despite her father's initial opposition. She studied hard and read widely. When the opportunity to be an actress came along, it almost dropped in her lap. American film director Frank Borzage was in Dublin in 1929, filming La chanson de mon coeur (1930), when the 18 year old met him. He suggested a screen test, which she took. The results were more than favorable and she won the substantial role of Eileen O'Brien, then went to Hollywood to complete filming.Once in sunny California, Maureen wasted no time landing roles in other films such as L'amour en l'an 2000 (1930), The Princess and the Plumber (1930), and So This Is London (1930). She was perhaps MGM's most popular ingenue throughout the 1930s in a number of non-Tarzan vehicles. In 1932, she teamed up with Olympic medal winner Johnny Weissmuller for the first time in Tarzan, l'homme singe (1932), as Jane Parker. Five other Tarzan films followed, the last being Les aventures de Tarzan à New-York (1942). The Tarzan epics rank as one of the most memorable series ever made. Most people agree that those movies would not have been as successful as they were had it not been for the talent, grace, and radiant beauty of O'Sullivan. But she was more than Jane Parker. She went on to roles in such films as The Flame Within (1935), David Copperfield (1935), and Anna Karénine (1935). She turned in another fine performance in Orgueil et préjugés (1940). After the 1940s, however, she made fewer films, primarily for personal reasons, i.e. caring for her large family.It isn't always easy to walk away from a lucrative career, but she did because she wanted to devote more time to her husband, John Farrow, an Australian-American writer, and their seven children: Michael, Patrick, Maria (a.k.a. Mia Farrow), John, Prudence, Theresa (a.k.a. Tisa Farrow), and Stephanie Farrow. The couple were married from 1936 until his death in 1963. After her last Tarzan she asked for release from her contract to care for her husband, who had just left the U.S. Navy with typhoid. She did not retire completely and still found time to make occasional movies and television programs, as well as operate a bridal consulting service (Wediquette International).She made her Broadway debut opposite Paul Ford in "Never Too Late" (November 27, 1962-April 24, 1965), a great success. She would appear on Broadway in various vehicles through 1981, and later co-produced two Broadway productions. Later movie patrons remember her as Elizabeth Alvorg in Peggy Sue s'est mariée (1986) (playing opposite fellow silver screen film veteran Leon Ames). Her final celluloid role was in Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood (1988). Some made-for-television movies followed and she retired completely in 1996, two years before her death in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 23, 1998 during heart surgery. She was 87 years old.

  • Birthday

    May 17, 1911
  • Place of Birth

    Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland

Known For

Awards

1 wins & 2 nominations

Walk of Fame
1991
Motion Picture
Winner - Star on the Walk of Fame

Movies & TV Shows

All
Movies
TV Shows