Bronwyn Fitzsimons was the only child of the legendary Irish actress Maureen O’Hara, who starred in classic films such as The Quiet Man, Miracle on 34th Street, and How Green Was My Valley. Bronwyn followed her mother into the world of Hollywood, appearing in several movies and TV shows in the 1960s and 1970s. However, she never achieved the same fame and success as her mother, and lived a quiet life in Glengarriff, Cork, where her mother had bought a home in 1970. Bronwyn died at the age of 71 on May 25, 2016, less than a year after her mother’s death at 95. Her cause of death was natural causes, according to Dead or Kicking.
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A Life in the Shadow of a Star
Bronwyn was born on June 30, 1944, in Los Angeles, California, to Maureen O’Hara and William Houston Price, an American film director. Her parents divorced in 1953, when Bronwyn was nine years old. She took her mother’s original maiden name, FitzSimons, as her surname. She was named after the character played by actress Anna Lee in the film How Green Was My Valley, in which O’Hara starred.
Bronwyn had a close relationship with her mother, who helped her pursue an acting career. She made her film debut in 1963, playing a cameo role alongside her mother and Henry Fonda in Spencer’s Mountain. She also starred in the war epic The Ravagers in 1965, and had guest roles in popular TV shows such as The Virginian and McHale’s Navy.
However, Bronwyn soon realized that she could not escape from her mother’s shadow, and that she did not have the same passion and talent for acting as her mother did. She decided to retire from show business in the late 1970s, and focus on her family and personal life.
A Car Accident and a Move to Ireland
In 1968, Bronwyn married David Steinberg, a producer and writer. They had a son, Conor Beau FitzSimons, in 1970. However, their marriage did not last long, and they divorced in 1973.
In the early 1980s, Bronwyn was involved in a car accident that left her with chronic pain and mobility issues. She moved to Ireland with her mother, who had bought a house in Glengarriff, Cork, in 1970. The house had five bedrooms and 35 acres of land, and was named Lugdine Park by O’Hara.
Bronwyn settled down in Glengarriff, where she made many friends and became a part of the local community. She ran a small cafe in the village for a while, and was known for her kindness, caring, and sense of humor. She was also very devoted to angels, and had a list of all the archangels inside the glass on her front door. She named her house Angel’s Rest.
Bronwyn visited her son Conor and his family regularly in Idaho, where they lived. Conor also followed his mother and grandmother into the film industry, working as a producer and director. He married Elga Andersen, a German actress and singer, and they had two children: Everest and Bailey.
A Sudden Death After Losing Her Mother
In October 2014, Maureen O’Hara announced that she was leaving Ireland and moving to Idaho to be with Conor and his family. It was the end of an era for the O’Hara/FitzSimons clan’s association with West Cork. O’Hara died on October 24, 2015, at the age of 95.
Less than seven months later, on May 25, 2016, Bronwyn was found dead at her home in Glengarriff by her home help. She was sitting in her armchair in front of the television, and pronounced dead at the scene. Her cause of death was natural causes.
Her son Conor flew to Ireland to arrange for her funeral service. The funeral mass was held at the Sacred Heart Church in Glengarriff on June 12, 2016. Bronwyn was buried next to her mother at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Bronwyn FitzSimons left behind a legacy of love and friendship for those who knew her. She also left behind a tragic story of a daughter who lived in the shadow of a star mother, who suffered from pain and loneliness after losing her mother, and who died suddenly without any warning or farewell.
