Maureen O'Hara, red-headed star of Hollywood's golden age, dies aged 95

The 'Queen of Technicolour', so called because her hair and green eyes lit up the screen, was known for fierce and passionate roles

Maureen O'Hara, who was born in Dublin, was considered one of the last members of Hollywood's golden age of cinema through the 40s and 50s (Corbis)

Maureen O'Hara, a "fearless and feisty" heroine of Hollywood's golden age, has died in her sleep in Idaho aged 95.

The Irish-American beauty is reported to have died listening to music from the film she was most proud of, The Quiet Man from 1952, according to the BBC.

It was one of a series of five films in which Ms O'Hara starred alongside John Wayne, whilst her big breakthrough was in multiple Oscar award-winning How Green Was My Valley.

"Her characters were feisty and fearless, just as she was in real life," her family said in a statement.

"She was also proudly Irish and spent her entire lifetime sharing her heritage and the wonderful culture of the Emerald Isle with the world."

Maureen O'Hara on set of Lady Godiva of Coventry in 1955 (Corbis)

Maureen O'Hara's 10 biggest films

1. The Quiet Man (1952), starring John Wayne and Jack MacGowran 

2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947), written and directed by George Seaton and now a Christmas classic 

3. How Green Was My Valley (1941), directed by John Ford and starring Walter Pidgeon

4. The Hunchback of Notre Drame (1939), one of Ms O'Hara's first films starring Charles Laughton

5. McLintock! (1963), a Technicolour Western with John Wayne

6. The Parent Trap (1961), a Disney film with Hayley Mills and Brian Keith

7. Spencer's Mountain (1963), starring opposite Henry Fonda

8. Rio Grande (1950), directed by John Ford and with John Wayne

9. Big Jake (1971), a Western again with John Wayne and Richard Boone

10. The Rare Breed (1966), a Western once more starring James Stewart.

Born in Dublin in 1920, Ms O'Hara began life as Maureen FitzSimons as one of six children with a long-held dream of being a stage actress.

She was given an opportunity to test for screen in London, where her large, expressive eyes were supposedly noticed by Mayflower Pictures, the New York Times reported.

Her contract was later sold on to director John Ford, who cast her the story of a Welsh mining family, or How Green Was My Valley, in 1941.

As colour film began to come in, meanwhile, the actor's red hair, bright green eyes and a peaches-and-cream complexion won her the accolade "Queen of Technicolour" for showing off its new feature so well.

Indeed, one critic praised only her in a largely negative review of 1950 film "Comanche Territory" by saying:

"Framed in Technicolor, Miss O'Hara somehow seems more significant than a setting sun."

Ms O'Hara, who was born in Dublin, was a proud Irishwoman according to her family (AP)

Married three times, Ms O'Hara gave up acting for most of the 70s and instead took over managing a commercial airline for her husband after his death in a plane crash.

She was reported by the Mail to have been heartbroken when plans for a film school in her name in Ireland fell through, and moved to Idaho to live with her grandson in 2012.