Discovered by Frank Borzage in England when she was 18, Maureen O’Sullivan started in the sound era and worked steadily for years. She moved to Hollywood to work for Fox in a variety of films, flying in a car through New York in the sci-fi epic Just Imagine and supporting Will Rogers in his early hit A Connecticut Yankee. She moved to MGM in 1932 where she immediately found fame as Jane in the long-running Tarzan series– she would make a total of six appearances in it. She was a reliable feature player, often playing innocents or sweet kids throughout the pre-Code era who were trapped in worlds of sin, most notably in The Thin Man and Skyscraper Souls.

O’Sullivan continued to work in MGM prestige pictures behind other legendary actresses, supporting Garbo in Anna Karenina and Greer Garson in Pride and Prejudice among others. She spent less time on the big screen after the 1940s to be with her family, including future star daughter Mia Farrow. She still appeared occasionally on the big screen and small in films ranging from curios like The Phynx to well-remembered classics like Hannah and Her Sisters. She passed in 1998.

Maureen O’Sullivan’s Pre-Code Filmography

Studios

Videos of Maureen O’Sullivan

She talks Tarzan in this clip from MGM: When the Lion Roared:

Maureen O’Sullivan Sites and Links

Other Actresses

BlondellIcon Crawford DietrichIcon
Dressler FrancisIcon GarboIcon
HarlowIcon Hopkins ShearerIcon
StanwyckIcon West OtherFamous