Top 50 Maureen O'Hara Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “In the beginning it was all black and white.”

— Maureen O'Hara

2. “I have never lost my faith in God.”

— Maureen O'Hara

3. “My heritage has been my grounding, and it has brought me peace.”

— Maureen O'Hara

4. “When How Green Was My Valley finally wrapped, I thought John Ford was a walking god.”

— Maureen O'Hara

5. “Henry Fonda gave me a spanking during a scene in Spencer’s Mountain.”

— Maureen O'Hara

6. “A sense of belonging is a sine qua non of healthy psychological functioning everywhere. Such a sense, beginning in infancy and continuing throughout life, comes about by experiencing mutual empathy; by sensing oneself as part of a whole, which recognizes and accepts that one is a member.”

— Maureen O'Hara

7. “Above all else, deep in my soul, I’m a tough Irishwoman.”

— Maureen O'Hara

8. “I was born into the most remarkable and eccentric family I could possibly have hoped for.”

— Maureen O'Hara

9. “In February 1953, I was making a second picture with Jeff Chandler, one called War Arrow. Jeff was a real sweetheart, but acting with him was like acting with a broomstick.”

— Maureen O'Hara

10. “God has a most wicked sense of humor.”

— Maureen O'Hara

11. “I saw myself as Joan of Arc.”

— Maureen O'Hara

12. “John Candy knew he was going to die. He told me on his 40th birthday. He said, well, Maureen, I’m on borrowed time.”

— Maureen O'Hara

13. “John Wayne is not just an actor, and a very fine actor – John Wayne is the United States of America.”

— Maureen O'Hara

14. “I didn’t let anyone push me into things I didn’t want to do where my career was concerned. So why did I crumble when it came to men?”

— Maureen O'Hara

15. “Charles Laughton signed me to my first movie contract at 17. He later asked my parents if he could adopt me.”

— Maureen O'Hara

16. “Working with Ty Power was exciting. In those days, he was the biggest romantic swashbuckler in the world. Murderously handsome! But what I loved most about Ty Power was his wicked sense of humor.”

— Maureen O'Hara

17. “My whole life was foretold to me. An old Romany gypsy read my fortune.”

— Maureen O'Hara

18. “I dainty little lass I wasn’t. I looked twice my age until I turned 10 or 11.”

— Maureen O'Hara

19. “I had always been a tomboy – I still am, at heart.”

— Maureen O'Hara

20. “The depth of John Candy’s talent did surprise me. He was one of my all-time favorite leading men.”

— Maureen O'Hara

21. “When I was young, I was told that I had a sulky, pouty face.”

— Maureen O'Hara

22. “Every star has that certain something that stands out and compels us to notice them.”

— Maureen O'Hara

23. “I watch and listen to movies today and am shocked by the way actors deliver their lines. Everybody mumbles now and I don’t understand why.”

— Maureen O'Hara

24. “Speaking as an actress, I wish all actors would be more like Duke Wayne. And speaking as a person, it would be nice if all people could be honest and as genuine as he is. This is a real man.”

— Maureen O'Hara

25. “I’m terrified about the day that I enter the gates of heaven and God says to me, just a minute.”

— Maureen O'Hara

26. “Audiences in London called me the girl with the black cherry eyes.”

— Maureen O'Hara

27. “I spent a great deal of time with Che Guevara while I was in Havana. I believe he was far less a mercenary than he was a freedom fighter.”

— Maureen O'Hara

28. “There is nothing worse than having your personal problems become somebody else’s entertainment.”

— Maureen O'Hara

29. “I don’t remember having a crush on a boy when I was a girl. I don’t even remember my first kiss.”

— Maureen O'Hara

30. “Lost in a crowd of greats, not a single Oscar. That’s showbiz.”

— Maureen O'Hara

31. “Being an Irishwoman means many things to me. An Irishwoman is strong and feisty. She has guts and stands up for what she believes in. She believes she is the best at whatever she does and proceeds through life with that knowledge. She can face any hazard that life throws her way and stay with it until she wins. She is loyal to her kinsmen and accepting of others. She’s not above a sock in the jaw if you have it coming.”

— Maureen O'Hara

32. “Comedy is difficult, especially slapstick. The trick is to have fun while you are performing it.”

— Maureen O'Hara

33. “The Parent Trap wouldn’t have been as special without the remarkable performances by Hayley Mills.”

— Maureen O'Hara

34. “The Parent Trap gave my career another boost, starring in family comedies.”

— Maureen O'Hara

35. “Some time ago, I told Larry King that I planned to live to be 102. I still do.”

— Maureen O'Hara

36. “It turns out that our notions of what a ‘self’ is and how it might feel fulfilled have no more objective status than most of the rest of reality. It seems we make ourselves up as we go along.”

— Maureen O'Hara

37. “The Queen Mary was the most civilized and luxurious way one could travel to America in the late 1930s.”

— Maureen O'Hara

38. “John Wayne was one of the greatest ambassadors for the United States that ever lived.”

— Maureen O'Hara

39. “When you try to battle with John Ford, you have to give in.”

— Maureen O'Hara

40. “I knew that Jamaica Inn was going to make me a star.”

— Maureen O'Hara

41. “How could you have had such a wonderful life as me if there wasn’t a God directing?”

— Maureen O'Hara

42. “Comedy is quite difficult, you have to be able to have fun and portray that sense of fun to the audience watching you.”

— Maureen O'Hara

43. “I’m really honestly terrified about how much I should tell and how much I should still keep secret.”

— Maureen O'Hara

44. “To be part of the creation, I must act humbly. I’ll take that over a goddess any day!”

— Maureen O'Hara

45. “How could you get angry with Jackie Gleason?”

— Maureen O'Hara

46. “There’s a terrible truth for many women in the picture business: Aging typically takes its toll and means fewer and less desirable roles.”

— Maureen O'Hara

47. “After I got to Hollywood, I resented that I didn’t get a crack at more dramatic roles because I photographed so beautifully.”

— Maureen O'Hara

48. “I am like many of the women I have played onscreen.”

— Maureen O'Hara

49. “I really wanted to be an opera soprano.”

— Maureen O'Hara

50. “Making movies is just like betting on horses at the racetrack.”

— Maureen O'Hara