Maria O’Brien, the actress and longtime acting coach best known for her 15-year tenure on Days of our lives and appearances in films, including Protocol and Smilehas died at the age of 75.
She died on February 24, although the cause of death was not disclosed.
Born on August 14, 1950 in Los Angeles, O’Brien came from true Hollywood royalty.
Her father, Edmond O’Brien, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1954 The Barefoot Contessawhile her mother, Olga San Juan, was a musical comedy star who appeared in a string of films, including Are you in? and A touch of Venus.
Maria followed them into the industry and landed her first screen credit in 1963 on the television series Sam Benedict.
During a career spanning six decades, she built an impressive body of work across both film and television.
Her screen credits included The Incredible Shrinking Woman, Table for fiveand the 1984 Goldie Hawn comedy Protocoland she made guest appearances in some of the most popular series of the 1980s and 90s, including Magnum P.I, Murder she wrote, LA law, Matlock, Chipsand The love boat.
Along the way, she shared scenes with Angela Lansbury, Lily Tomlin, Tom Selleck, Melanie Griffith and Goldie Hawn.
She also won a Drama-Logue Award in 1990 for her performance in Jean Genets The maids at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
In the late 1990s, O’Brien moved into coaching and joined the daytime dramas Sunset Beach and Passions before taking up her long-standing position as acting coach Days of our livesa role she held until her retirement in 2022.
Away from the screen, she was a passionate advocate for Alzheimer’s research.
Her father had been among the first celebrities to be publicly diagnosed with the disease, and in 1983 O’Brien testified before Congress about its devastating effects.
Her advocacy played a meaningful role in securing government funding for research into the condition.
She is survived by her three children, Thomas, Danica and Sean Anderson, and her sister Bridget O’Brien Adelman.
