‘Matlock’ Actress Dies: Maria O’Brien Was 75

Maria O’Brien, the actress best known for her roles in Matlock and Protocol, has died. She was 75.

O’Brien died on Feb. 24, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and her cause of death has not been publicly shared.

O’Brien was born into a show business family, as her father, Edmond O’Brien, won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and her mother, musical comedy star Olga San Juan, appeared in films like The Countess of Monte Cristo (1948), Are You with It? (1948), and One Touch of Venus (1948).

O’Brien began her career as an acting coach, working on soap operas like Passions and Sunset Beach early on. She would return to a coaching role later in her career as well, working in that capacity on Days of Our Lives for 15 years until her retirement in 2022.

O’Brien’s first onscreen credit came in 1963, as she appeared on the TV show Sam Benedict. In 1988, she played Juanita Martinez in Matlock, and her other television credits include Viva Valdez, The Love Boat, How the West Was Won, The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts, CHiPs, Quincy, M.E., Magnum, P.I., Good Morning, Miss Bliss, L.A. Law, Matlock, Jake and the Fatman, Murder, She Wrote, Nash Bridges, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, Suddenly Susan, Jack & Jill, Spyder Games and For the People.

O’Brien also had a career on the big screen, playing Nancy in the film Protocol (1984), which starred Goldie Hawn and Chris Sarandon. Her other film credits include Smile (1975), Good Luck (1996), Promised a Miracle (1988), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), Table for Five (1983), False Arrest (1991) and In Sickness and in Health (1992).

In 1990, O’Brien won a Drama-Logue award for The Maids by Jean Genet, which was performed at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

She is survived by her brother, actor Brendan O’Brien; her three children, James Anderson, Danica Anderson and Sean Anderson; and her sister, Bridget O’Brien Adelman.