Born in County Dublin, Ireland in 1920, Maureen O’Hara was often called upon to play tough, determined women alongside John Wayne. In fact, the two of them starred in five movies together, three of them Westerns. On- and off-screen, O’Hara and Wayne held a close relationship. Per Cowboys & Indians, Wayne once called O’Hara “the greatest guy I ever knew.” Regarding Wayne, O’Hara once said (per IrishCentral), “It would be nice if all people could be honest and as genuine as he is. This is a real man.” This was high praise from O’Hara, who spoke rather dimly of other Hollywood actors. According to the Irish Examiner, she called Rex Harrison “rude, vulgar and arrogant,” George Montgomery “positively loathsome,” and said that working with Jeff Chandler was like “acting with a broomstick.”
When Wayne was nearing the end of his life, O’Hara spoke in favor of his Congressional Gold Medal. “I have known John Wayne for 39 years, and in those 39 years I have called him my dearest friend — my best friend … To the people of the world, John Wayne is not just an actor — and a very fine actor — John Wayne is the United States of America,” she said, as Cowboys & Indians quotes. She concluded: “I beg you to strike a medal for Duke, to order the president to strike it. And I feel that the medal should say just one thing: ‘John Wayne, American.'”
