October 31, 1879

Sara Allgood, film and stage actress, was born on this day in 1879 in Dublin. It is unclear whether her exact birth date was October 31 or October 15. Allgood was considered one of the best character actresses of her time. Her crowning achievement was when she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Mrs. Morgan in John Ford’s “How Green Was My Valley,” in which she starred opposite Irish actress Maureen O’Hara. She began her career at the Abbey Theater in Dublin. Allgood moved to the U.S. in the 1940s and was featured in films such as, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” “Jane Eyre,” and “The Keys of the Kingdom.” She became a U.S. citizen in 1945 and died in 1950 from a heart attack.