Maria O’Brien, the actress known for roles in Matlock and Protocol and for spending years shaping performances behind the camera, has died at 75.
The longtime TV and film veteran reportedly died on Feb. 24, according to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. Her cause of death has not been revealed.
O’Brien came from old-school Hollywood stock. She was the daughter of Oscar winner Edmond O’Brien and musical comedy star Olga San Juan, but she carved out her own path in the industry with a career that stretched from acting to coaching.
She first popped up on television in a 1963 episode of Sam Benedict, then kept working steadily for years with appearances in shows like Viva Valdez, The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts, Quincy, M.E. and Matlock. She also landed parts in films including Shell Game, Choirboys, Prime Time, The Incredible Shrinking Woman and the 1984 comedy Protocol, where she appeared alongside Goldie Hawn, Jean Smart and Richard Romanus.
But O’Brien’s career didn’t stop when the cameras cut.
After years in front of the lens, she became a sought-after acting coach, helping guide talent on daytime dramas including Sunset Beach and Passions. She later became a fixture at Days of Our Lives, where she reportedly worked for more than 15 years before retiring in 2022.
Her life also carried a painful personal chapter that reached far beyond Hollywood. In 1983, O’Brien testified before Congress about the devastating toll of Alzheimer’s disease after her father’s diagnosis. Edmond O’Brien was one of the first major actors to go public with the illness, making the family’s fight especially visible at the time.
The loss comes on the heels of another family tragedy. O’Brien’s brother, voice actor Brendan O’Brien, died in 2023.
She is survived by her three children, Thomas, Danica and Sean Anderson, along with her sister, Bridget O’Brien Adelman.
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