Maureen Paula OSullivan was born in County Roscommon Ireland on May 17 1911 The future mother of Mia Farrow was a schooldays classmate of Vivien Leigh at the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Roehampton in London Even as a schoolgirl Maureen desired an acting career she studied hard and read widely When the opportunity to be an actress came along it almost dropped in her lap The director Frank Borzage was in Dublin filming Song o My Heart 1930 when Maureen then 18 met him Borzage suggested a screen test which she took The results were more than favorable as she won the part of Eileen OBrien The part was a substantial one so much so that Maureen went on to Hollywood to complete the filming Once in sunny California Maureen wasted no time landing roles in other films such as Just Imagine 1930 Princess and the Plumber 1930 and So This Is London 1930 Maureen was on a roll that her contemporaries could only have wished for when they were coming up through the ranks In 1932 Maureen was teamed up with Olympic medal winner Johnny Weissmuller for the first time in Tarzan the Ape Man 1932 Five other Tarzan films followed the last being Tarzans New York Adventure 1942 The Tarzan epics rank as one of the most memorable series ever made Most people agree that those movies would not have been successful had it not been for the fine acting talents not to mention beauty of Maureen OSullivan But she was more than Jane Parker in the Tarzan films she had great roles and played beautifully in films such as The Flame Within 1935 David Copperfield 1935 and Anna Karenina 1935 She turned in yet another fine performance in Pride and Prejudice 1940 After the 1940s Maureen made far fewer films not because she lost popularity but by choice It isnt 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 writer and their seven children The couple were married from 1936 until his death in 1963 She did not however retire completely Maureen still found time to make an occasional appearance in films or TV or on the stage Later moviegoers remember her as Elizabeth Alvorg in the hit film Peggy Sue Got Married 1986 Her final silver screen appearance was in The River Pirates 1988 Some TV movies followed but only until 1996 She maintained homes in New Hampshire and Arizona and it was in Scottsdale that Maureen died on June 23 1998 of a heart attack She was 87 years old
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