St. Patrick’s Day is quickly approaching and while I’m not Irish (German background) I never say no to a Guinness and a cheers with friends on this day. Since we cannot do this on the blog I thought it might be fun to check out some images of some lovely Irish Hollywood actresses from the 1940s and 1950s together (feel free to have a beer while reading).

(Note: This is not a complete list, I’m sure I have missed many names).

Irish Movie Actresses of the 1940s and 1950s

First up..

Maureen O’Hara

Born August 17th, 1920 in Dublin Ireland, she is noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. Movie highlights include: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Miracle on 34th Street, plus many more. An icon of Hollywood’s Golden Age, at the height of her career, O’Hara was considered one of the world’s most beautiful women. She is often remembered for her onscreen chemistry with John Wayne. They made five films together between 1948 and 1972: Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, The Wings of Eagles, McLintock! and Big Jake (Source: Wikipedia).

Vintage Photo of actress Maureen O'Hara wearing a beautiful 1940s vintage hairstyle

Maureen O’Sullivan

Born May 17th, 1911 in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. Maureen was an Irish actress best known for playing Jane in the Tarzan series of films.

Vintage Photo of Actress Maureen OSullivan in the movie Tarzan. Fantastic example of how to wear a hair flower in your hair.

Angela Greene

Actress Angela Greene was born on February 24, 1921 in Dublin, Ireland. She is best known for playing leads in B pictures including the films Hollywood Canteen (1944) and Mildred Pierce (1945), and also appeared in dozens of TV shows. During World War II, she became a popular World War II pin-up girl and her bikini-clad image graced the nose of the US bomber Skipper 2, which flew 25 missions over North Africa and Europe. She dated naval lieutenant John F. Kennedy before marrying businessman Stuart Martin in 1946.

US bomber skipper 2 featuring an illustration of actress Angela Greene

Constance Smith

Born February 7th, 1929 in Limerick, Ireland, Constance was an Irish film actress, and contract player of 20th Century Fox in the 1950s. She starred in two dozen films during the 1940’s and 1950’s, including films like Treasure of the Golden Condor, Taxi and Man in the Attic.

Vintage movie poster for the man in the attic featuring Constance Smith

Do you have any Ireland born screen actresses to add to this list?

Happy St. Patrick’s day!

FURTHER READING:

Vintage St. Patrick’s Day Advertising from the 1930s-1960s

Liz

I’m so excited! for tonight right here in Toronto, I get to see the Queen of Rockabilly…”Wanda Jackson” in the flesh. She will be performing at a favorite watering hole for Rockabilly lovers in Toronto called the “Cadillac Lounge” and the show is going to be amazing I just know it!

What is awesome about the “Caddy” as we call it here is that it is small so it’s going to be a pretty intimate show so I hope I can score some good pictures of her OR maybe even meet her..OMG could you imagine?? If I do I will do a follow up post with the pictures.

In the mean time I thought I would share a few pictures of the beautiful Wanda Jackson and a couple of videos of my favorite songs as well. Enjoy!

Wanda Jackson-The Queen of Rockabilly

Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, recording a series of 1950s singles that helped give her the nickname “The Queen of Rockabilly” (Source).

Did you know that Wanda briefly dated Elvis??? Lucky Lucky Lucky girl!

Vintage 1950s Photo of the Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson and Elvis

1950s vintage photo of Wanda Jackson with Gene Vincent.

1950s Vintage Photo of Wanda Jackson & Gene Vincent

During the 1950s, Jackson’s stage outfits were often designed by her mother. Unlike traditional clothing worn by female country music singers of the time, she wore fringe dresses, high heels and long earrings; and has claimed she was the first female to put “glamor into country music (Source: Wikipedia).

Vintage Photo of the Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson in a Cowboy hat and Fringe dress - Western Style.

Vintage Photo of the Queen of Rockablly, Wanda Jackson.

Vintage Photo of the Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson in a fringed red one shoulder dress.

Vintage Photo of the Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson playing the guitar.

Vintage Photo of the Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson -Publicity Photo

Wanda Jackson today…Beautiful!

Update January 29th, 2023: Wanda has put out an album in 2021 with Joan Jett (HERE). She was also featured in Rolling Stones- 200 Greatest Singers of All Time (2023).

She is not slowing down anytime soon.