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Maria O’Brien, the actress best known for her work on Matlock, has died at the age of 75.
The star and acting coach passed away on February 24, according to reports from Deadline.
Her cause of death has not been disclosed.
Born into a family of performers, she was the daughter of Oscar-winning actor Edmund O’Brien and musical comedy star Olga San Juan.
O’Brien made her film debut in 1975 with Smile, and went on to appear in films including Shell Game (1975), The Choirboys (1977), Prime Time (1977), PSI Factor (1980), and The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1980).
In 1984, she appeared in Protocol, sharing the screen with Goldie Hawn, Jean Smart, Richard Romanus, and others.
Maria O’Brien, the actress best known for her work on Matlock, has died at the age of 75; (pictured in 1987)
The star and acting coach passed away on February 24, and her cause of death has not been disclosed; (pictured 1974)
On television, O’Brien appeared in a host of popular shows, including Viva Valdez, The Love Boat, How the West Was Won and The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts.
She also appeared in CHiPs, Quincy, M.E., Magnum, P.I., Good Morning, Miss Bliss, L.A. Law and Matlock.
Her credits continued with Jake and the Fatman, Murder, She Wrote, Nash Bridges, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, Suddenly Susan, Jack & Jill, Spyder Games and For the People.
Throughout her career, she shared the screen with major stars such as Melanie Griffith, Lily Tomlin, Angela Lansbury and Tom Selleck.
Beyond acting, O’Brien dedicated much of her life to coaching others, serving as an acting coach on daytime dramas like Sunset Beach and Passions.
She then spent 15 years mentoring performers on Days of Our Lives, a role she continued until her retirement in 2022.
She was also recognised for her theatre work, winning a Drama-Logue award for her performance in Jean Genet’s The Maids at Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum.
O'Brien in How the West Was Won in 1979
O’Brien made her film debut in 1975 with Smile
In 1988, she played Juanita Martinez in Matlock
Her father, an Oscar-winning actor, took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and starred in a string of classic films; (Edmund pictured with Pamela Britton in 1949(
Maria also became a passionate advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness following her father’s diagnosis.
Edmund O’Brien was one of the first celebrities publicly diagnosed with the disease, and in 1983 Maria even testified before Congress, helping secure government funding for Alzheimer’s research.
Her father earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and appeared in a string of classic films that cemented his place in Hollywood history.
Maria is survived by her brother, actor Brendan O’Brien; her three children, James, Danica and Sean Anderson; and her sister, Bridget O’Brien Adelman.
English (US) ·