A first-ever revealing and candid look at the life and career of one of Hollywood’s brightest and most beloved stars, Maureen O’Hara. In an acting career of more than seventy years, Hollywood legend Maureen O’Hara came to be known as “the queen of Technicolor” for her fiery red hair and piercing green eyes. She had a reputation as a fiercely independent thinker and champion of causes, particularly those of her beloved homeland, Ireland. In ‘Tis Herself, O’Hara recounts her extraordinary life and proves to be just as strong, sharp, and captivating as any character she played on-screen. O’Hara was brought to Hollywood as a teenager in 1939 by the great Charles Laughton, to whom she was under contract, to costar with him in the classic film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She has appeared in many other classics, including How Green Was My Valley, Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, and Miracle on 34th Street. She recalls intimate memories of working with the actors and directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age, including Laughton, Alfred Hitchcock, Tyrone Power, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, and John Candy. With characteristic frankness, she describes her tense relationship with the mercurial director John Ford, with whom she made five films, and her close lifelong friendship with her frequent costar John Wayne. Successful in her career, O’Hara was less lucky in love until she met aviation pioneer Brigadier General Charles F. Blair, the great love of her life, who died in a mysterious plane crash ten years after their marriage. Candid and revealing, ‘Tis Herself is an autobiography as witty and spirited as its author. "A great page-turner, a well-told saga." -- The Hollywood Reporter "This feisty memoir shows there's more to O'Hara than red hair and green eyes." -- Kirkus Reviews "Lots of revealing, candid moments from inside Hollywood." -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution "A delightful anecdotal autobiography....O'Hara treats readers like close friends, and her powerful personality is evident throughout." -- Publishers Weekly Maureen O'Hara has starred in more than sixty motion pictures. She divides her time between the United States, Ireland, and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Johnny Nicoletti is an author, actor, and talent manager. Most notably, he is the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller ‘Tis Herself , a memoir by Hollywood screen legend Maureen O’Hara. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. Visit his social learning website at HipNoggin.com and acting bio at IMDB.me/JohnnyNicoletti. Chapter One: The Gypsy and the Two-Headed Beast My whole life was foretold to me. I peered out the crack of our door and found an old Romany Gypsy standing hunched on our porch in the hot afternoon sun. She smiled down at me and took my five-year-old hands in hers, then turned my palms upward and read my fortune. "You will leave Ireland one day and become a very famous woman known all around the world. You are going to make a fortune and be very, very rich." Then she held my hands in the light and cackled, "But it will all slip through your fingers one day." I pulled my hands away and answered with certainty, "I'll never leave Ireland." Then I closed the door. I thought the old girl was silly. I didn't need a Gypsy to tell me what my place in the world would be. I already knew. I believed from the time I was able to think that I was going to set the world on fire. You are about to read the tale of the toughest Irish lass who ever took on Hollywood and became a major leading lady of the silver screen. In a career that has lasted for over sixty years, I have acted, punched, swashbuckled, and shot my way through an absurdly masculine profession during the most extraordinary of times. As a woman, I'm proud to say that I stood toe-to-toe with the best of them and made my mark on my own terms. I'm Maureen O'Hara, and this is my life story. So did the old Gypsy get it right? And who is the real Maureen O'Hara anyway? I bet that's what you really want to know. Before I answer and we begin our journey together, I want to tell you why I've decided to write this book. For one thing, I do feel a sense of responsibility for sharing my thoughts and experiences about the most remarkable era in filmmaking history -- Hollywood's golden age. There aren't many of us left who can honestly look back and give you a taste of its delicious insanity and glamour. More important, though, I'm finally ready to confront my long life with open eyes. I'm ready to revisit those treacherous hills I once climbed, and eager to kill any fear deargs (pronounced "far darrigs") that may still be lurking in the shadows. I also want to set the record straight about my life in my own words before some self-serving writer pens a heap of rubbish about me after I'm gone from this earth. My favorite untrue story ever written about me is that I once lived in a magnificent Arabian palace with tall towers and a long swimming pool