How much is Margaret O’Brien worth?
| Net Worth: | $11 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional actress |
| Date of Birth: | 15 January 1937 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.63 m |
About Margaret O’Brien
At the age of four, O’Brien made her debut in the film Babes on Broadway, which was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941. However, it was not until the following year that she was cast in her first major role, which gained her widespread acclaim. O’Brien, who was only five years old when she starred in the 1942 film Journey for Margaret, received a great deal of acclaim for her believable performance, which was exceptional for a child of her age.
Maxine O’Brien gave birth to her daughter Margaret O’Brien. She used that name in 1941, when she appeared in a WWII civil defense film and made a minor appearance in her first feature film. After that, she became a contract player with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and the studio changed her first name and cast her in the title role of the film Journey for Margaret. She is best known for her role as Margaret in the film.
Gladys Flores, O’Brien’s mother, was a flamenco dancer who frequently performed alongside her sister Marissa, who was also a dancer. O’Brien was named after Gladys Flores. O’Brien’s lineage can be traced to both the Irish and the Spanish sides of the family. She was brought up in the Catholic faith.
By 1943, she had achieved the level of fame necessary to make a cameo appearance in the conclusion of the all-star military show Thousands Cheer. This performance was broadcast on the BBC. Also Margaret co-starred in the 1943 short film “You, John Jones,” a “War Bond/Effort,” alongside James Cagney and Ann Sothern (playing their daughter). In the film, Margaret powerfully recited President Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.” Margaret was just seven years old at the time. In the play Jane Eyre, she had the role of Adèle, a young French girl, and she sung and spoke with a French accent throughout the entire performance.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), in which she co-starred with Judy Garland, is often regarded as the film that best captures her career. She was a shining star in the role of Tootie Smith, Judy Garland’s feisty but frail little sister. She was particularly memorable in the musical numbers she performed with Judy Garland and in the Halloween scene in which she confronts a grumpy neighbor. In 1944, she was presented with a special juvenile Oscar for her role in the film.
The Allysons, especially Margaret and June, were known throughout MGM as “The Town Criers” “We were always trying to outdo one another in the crying department; June always wanted to cry better than I did, and I always wanted to cry better than she did. My mother would say to me if I was having difficulties with a scene, “why do not we have the make-up man come over and give you false tears?” This would be her way of getting me to cry when I did not want to.
Her subsequent films such as “The Canterville Ghost” (1944), “Our Vines Have Tender Grapes” (1945), “Bad Bascomb” (1946) co-starring Wallace Beery, and “The Secret Garden” in its first sound version were all commercially successful as well (1949). She appeared in the 1949 MGM production of Little Women as Beth, but she was unable to successfully shift to adult parts after the film’s release.
She played alongside Cecil Parker in “The Canterville Ghost” an episode of Robert Montgomery Presents that aired on television on November 20, 1950. She made an appearance on “What’s My Line” on November 24, 1957, playing the role of the mystery guest. O’Brien starred in the General Electric Theater production of “The Young Years” on the 22nd of December, 1957. On the television show Rawhide, she appeared as Betsy Stauffer, a nurse working in a small town, in the episode titled “The Incident of the Town in Terror” In 1958, she made a guest appearance on an episode of Wagon Train.
O’Brien eventually abandoned her child star image and appeared on the cover of Life magazine in 1958 with the slogan “How the Girl’s Grown”. She also appeared as a mystery guest on the television panel show What is My Line? in the same year.
O’Brien’s acting performances as an adult have been few and far between, the majority of which have been in low-budget independent films and the rare stint on television. She has also participated in interviews, the majority of which were conducted for the cable network Turner Classic Movies.
She played the role of Virginia Trent in the 1963 episode of Perry Mason titled “The Case of the Shoplifter’s Shoe.” in which she made a cameo appearance. In 1967, she appeared as a special guest in the television drama Combat!, which was centered on World War II. Also, in a two-part episode of Ironside from 1968 called “Split Second to an Epitaph” O’Brien played the role of a pharmacist who (quite the opposite of her usual screen persona) was involved in drug theft and was an accessory to attempted murder of the character Ironside played by star Raymond Burr. Another one of O’Brien’s infrequent appearances on television was as a guest star on the hit show Marcus Welby, M.D. in the early 1970s. This role brought O’Brien back together with Robert Young, who she had previously worked with on the films Journey for Margaret and The Canterville Ghost.
Summing-Up
O’Brien started her career as a child actor in feature films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer when she was only four years old. She went on to become one of the most famous child stars in the history of film and was awarded a Juvenile Academy Award for being the best child actress in 1944. In later years of her career, she had roles in films, on television, and on stages, in addition to supporting ones.
O’Brien was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February 1960. One of the stars was located at 6606 Hollywood Boulevard for her work in motion films, while the other was located at 1634 Vine Street for her work in television.
O’Brien was presented with the Former Child Star “Lifetime Achievement” Award by the Young Artist Foundation in the year 1990. This award was bestowed to her in recognition of her exceptional accomplishments as a child actress within the film business. At the SunDeis Film Festival held at Brandeis University in 2006, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in the film industry.
