Biographie
Irish actress and comedienne, born in Fairview on Dublin’s north side, was the daughter of a commercial traveller and educated at St. Mary's School. At age 7, she became the All Ireland Junior Dancing Champion. Two years later, Dublin comedian Jimmy O'Dea discovered her at an amateur concert party, leading to her appearances in pantomime alongside him at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. In 1937, she joined English comic Jack Hylton's troupe, despite being officially underage, touring England and Europe as The Pocket Mimic, with a standout Shirley Temple impression. In 1938, the troupe performed in Germany before Hitler and Nazi leaders. With the outbreak of World War II, she returned to neutral Ireland and resumed her partnership with O'Dea at the Gaiety, where O'Dea typically played the Dame ("Mrs Mulligan") in the Christmas pantomime and she portrayed his daughter. Initially his stooge, she evolved into an equal partner in the double act. After the war, she performed on variety bills in England with artists like Ted Ray and Max Wall but increasingly focused on Dublin. In 1959, she married Jack O'Leary, an Irish army officer she met in 1943, who wrote most of her comic material. During the 1960s, she appeared on Irish television, sometimes with O'Dea and, following his death in 1965, with dancer and comedian Danny Cummins, a regular in Gaiety pantomimes. From 1955 to 1970, she headlined the annual summer revue 'Gaels of Laughter' at the Gaiety, highlighting her diverse talents including mimicry and dancing. In the early 1990s, despite claiming retirement due to arthritis, she began a series of hour-long one-woman shows at Clontarf Castle, Dublin. She was also an author of children's books.
