Maureen O'Sullivan - First Century
Maureen O'Sullivan, who would have been 100 years old today, could arguably claim to have been Ireland's first international superstar.
Born amidst the beautiful rolling green hills of County Roscommon, she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart School in Roehampton in the leafy suburbs of London, alongside Vivien Leigh as it happens.
After finishing school in France, she travelled to the US in an effort to break into the film industry, which she did most notably as Jane in the Tarzan films opposite beefcake extraordinaire Johnny Weissmuller.
Noir fans will remember her best, however, for movies such as The Thin Man (1934) with William Powell and Myrna Loy; Hide-Out (1934) with Robert Montgomery and Let Us Live (1938) with Henry Fonda.
She took a career break in 1942 to care for her ailing husband, John Farrow, with whom she had Mia Farrow as a child, and then returned in the classic film noir The Big Clock (1948) with Ray Milland and Charles Laughton.
Where Danger Lives (1950) was directed by husband John and featured Robert Mitchum and Faith Domergue in a love triangle featuring the death of a husband. Men Behind Bars (1954) saw Maureen in an ensemble cast about life in San Quentin, with Maureen as Paul Kelly's wife - and she reprised the role in The Steel Cage (1954) begfore disappearing into TV land.
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