Maureen Paula O'Sullivan (May 17, 1911 – June 23, 1998) was an Irish actress who playedJane in theTarzan series of films during the era ofJohnny Weissmuller. She starred in dozens of feature films across a span of more than half a century and performed with such stars asLaurence Olivier,Greta Garbo,Fredric March,William Powell,Myrna Loy,Marie Dressler,Wallace Beery,Lionel Barrymore, theMarx Brothers andWoody Allen. In 2020, she was listed at number eight onThe Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.^[1]

Maureen O'Sullivan
O'Sullivan in 1934
Born	Maureen Paula O'Sullivan (1911-05-17)17 May 1911 Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland
Died	23 June 1998(1998-06-23) (aged 87) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Resting place	Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery,Niskayuna, New York
Occupations	Actress singer
Years active	1930–1994
Known for	Jane Parker inTarzan films
Spouses	John Farrow ​ ​ (m. 1936; died 1963)​ James Cushing ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	7, includingPatrick,Mia,Prudence &Tisa
Relatives	Ronan Farrow (grandson)

O'Sullivan was born inBoyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. After attending schools in Dublin, England, and France, she moved to Hollywood to work forFox Film Corporation. O'Sullivan's film career began in the 1930s, and she eventually became a contract player atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She is best known for playingJane Parker in sixTarzan films between 1932 and 1942, alongsideJohnny Weissmuller.

O'Sullivan also appeared in films such asThe Thin Man (1934),Anna Karenina (1935),A Day at the Races (1937),Pride and Prejudice (1940), andMaisie Was a Lady (1941). She took a break from acting to care for her family but later returned to the screen in films directed by her husband, John Farrow. She continued to work in film and theater throughout her life, including appearances in Woody Allen'sHannah and Her Sisters (1986), Coppola'sPeggy Sue Got Married (1986), and inStranded (1987).

O'Sullivan was married twice, first toJohn Farrow, with whom she had seven children, including actressMia Farrow, and later to businessman James Cushing. She became a U.S. citizen in 1947 and was a Catholic and Democrat. O'Sullivan died in 1998 at the age of 87. She has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame and is remembered for her contributions to the art of film, including receiving theGeorge Eastman Award in 1982.

O'Sullivan was born inBoyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, on 17 May 1911,^[2] the daughter of Mary Eva Lovatt (née Frazer; 1884–1969)^[3] and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan (1880–1974), an officer in theConnaught Rangers who served inWorld War I.^[4][5] Maureen O'Sullivan returned to Boyle in 1988 to be honoured by the town.

As a child, O'Sullivan attended a convent school inDublin, then the Convent of the Sacred Heart atRoehampton, England (nowWoldingham School). One of her classmates there was Vivian Mary Hartley, the future Academy Award-winning actressVivien Leigh. After attending finishing school in France, O'Sullivan returned to Dublin to work with the poor.

In October 1929, she sailed to New York with her mother on the British steamerRMS Baltic, on the way to Hollywood to work for theFox Film Corporation.

O'Sullivan's film career began when she met motion picture directorFrank Borzage, who was doing location filming onSong o' My Heart (released in 1930) forFox Film Corporation. He suggested she take a screen test which won her a part in the movie that starred Irish tenorJohn McCormack. She travelled to the United States to complete the movie in Hollywood. She appeared in six movies at Fox, then made three more at other studios.

In 1932 she signed a contract withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After several roles there and for other studios, she was chosen byIrving Thalberg to appear as Jane Parker inTarzan the Ape Man, with costarJohnny Weissmuller. One of MGM's more popularingenues through the 1930s, she appeared in a number of other productions with various stars. She played Jane in six Tarzan features between 1932 and 1942.^[6]

She was featured withWilliam Powell andMyrna Loy inThe Thin Man (1934) and played Kitty inAnna Karenina (1935) withGreta Garbo,Fredric March, andBasil Rathbone. After costarring with the Marx Brothers inA Day at the Races (1937), she appeared as Molly Beaumont inA Yank at Oxford (1938), written partly byF. Scott Fitzgerald.

She appeared inPride and Prejudice (1940) withLaurence Olivier andGreer Garson, and supportedAnn Sothern inMaisie Was a Lady (1941). After appearing inTarzan's New York Adventure (1942), O'Sullivan asked MGM to release her from her contract so she could care for her husband,John Farrow, who had just left the Navy with typhoid. She retreated from show business, devoting her time to her family. In 1948, she reappeared on the screen inThe Big Clock, directed by her husband forParamount Pictures. She continued to appear occasionally in her husband's movies and on television.

By 1960, O'Sullivan believed she had permanently retired. However, actorPat O'Brien encouraged her to take a part in summer stock, and the playA Roomful of Roses opened in 1961. It led to her Broadway debut inNever Too Late with costarPaul Ford. Shortly after it opened, John Farrow died of a heart attack. O'Sullivan stuck with acting after Farrow's death; she was the Today Girl forNBC for a while, then made the movie version ofNever Too Late (1965) forWarner Bros. She was also an executive director of a bridal consulting service, Wediquette International.

In June and July 1972, O'Sullivan was inDenver, Colorado, to star in theElitch Theatre production ofButterflies are Free withKaren Grassle andBrandon deWilde. The show ended on July 1, 1972.^[7][8]

When her daughter, actressMia Farrow, became involved withWoody Allen both professionally and romantically, she appeared in Allen'sHannah and Her Sisters, playing Farrow's mother. She had roles inPeggy Sue Got Married (1986) and the science fiction oddityStranded (1987). In 1994, she appeared withRobert Wagner andStefanie Powers inHart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is, a feature-length made-for-TV movie with the wealthy husband-and-wife team from the popular weekly detective seriesHart to Hart.

O'Sullivan's first husband was Australian-American writer, award-winning director and Catholic convertJohn Villiers Farrow, from September 12, 1936, until his death on January 27, 1963. She and Farrow had seven children: Michael Damien, Patrick Joseph (Patrick Villiers Farrow), Maria de Lourdes Villiers (Mia Farrow), John Charles,^[9]Prudence Farrow, Stephanie Farrow andTheresa Magdalena "Tisa" Farrow. Mia Farrow gave two of her children, Dylan andRonan, the middle name of O'Sullivan.

In 1958, Michael Farrow, eldest son of John Farrow and Maureen O'Sullivan, died in a plane crash in California.^[10]

Twenty years after the death of Farrow, O'Sullivan married James Cushing, a wealthy businessman, on August 22, 1983, and they remained wed until her death in 1998. O'Sullivan became a U.S. citizen on October 22, 1947 (Petition for Naturalization #133033) in Los Angeles, California.^[11]

O'Sullivan was aCatholic,^[12] and as an ardentDemocrat, she supportedAdlai Stevenson during the1952 presidential election.^[13]

O'Sullivan died inScottsdale, Arizona, of complications from heart surgery, on June 23, 1998, at age 87.^[14]

O'Sullivan has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard, facing the star ofJohnny Weissmuller.^[15] A black plaque marks her home on Main Street inBoyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. Just around the corner from there, opposite King House, is a tree, ceremonially planted by O'Sullivan to mark her return to her birthplace.^[16]

In 1982, O'Sullivan received the George Eastman Award, given byGeorge Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.^[17]

Feature films

Short subjects

• Hollywood Extra: The First Step (1936) as Herself
• Hollywood – The Second Step (1936)
• Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday (1947)
• Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Shower of Stars (1955)
• Mandy's Grandmother (1978) as Grandmother

• Official website 
• Maureen O'Sullivan atIMDb
• Maureen O'Sullivan at theInternet Broadway Database 
• Maureen O'Sullivan at theTCM Movie Database 
• Maureen O'Sullivan atFind a Grave
• Maureen O'Sullivan as "Jane" Photo Gallery
• Photographs of Maureen O'Sullivan