Margaret O\'Brien was born Angela Maxine O\'Brien; her name was later changed following the success of the film Journey for Margaret (1942), in which she played the title role. Her father, Lawrence O\'Brien, a circus performer, died before she was born. O\'Brien\'s mother, Gladys Flores, was a well-known flamenco dancer who often performed with her sister Marissa, also a dancer. O\'Brien is of half-Irish and half-Spanish ancestry. She was raised Catholic.\n', '

O\'Brien made her first film appearance in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer\'s Babes on Broadway (1941) at the age of four, but it was the following year that her first major role brought her widespread attention. As a five-year-old in Journey for Margaret (1942), O\'Brien won wide praise for her convincing acting style. By 1943, she was considered a big enough star to have a cameo appearance in the all-star military show finale of Thousands Cheer. \n', 'Also In 1943, at the age of seven, Margaret co-starred in "You, John Jones," a "War Bond/Effort," short film, with James Cagney and Ann Sothern (playing their daughter), in which she dramatically recited President Lincoln\'s "Gettysburg Address." She played Adèle, a young French girl, and spoke and sang all her dialogue with a French accent in Jane Eyre (1943).\n', '

Arguably her most memorable role was as "Tootie" in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), opposite Judy Garland. As she told the true story on a Turner Classic Movie special, Margaret was known as one of "the Best Cryers" on the MGM lot, but she was having a tough time crying, so to get Margaret to cry during a crucial emotional scene in the movie, her mother told her that "June Allyson, (another one of MGM\'s Best Cryers) is a better cryer than you!!" No surprise, she cried, and was wonderful in the role of "Tootie." \n', '

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