MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS Child Star Celebrated ‘Thrill of Giving’ Every Christmas

Published: December 24, 2024

MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS Child Star Celebrated ‘Thrill of Giving’ Every Christmas

By Movieguide® Contributor

Christmas always meant “a great deal” to former child star Margaret O’Brien.

“Margaret, like thousands of other children of the world, loves Christmas,” her mother wrote in a 1948 essay for Guideposts. “Christmas has always meant a great deal to her. In the first place, she loves surprises. Surprises for someone else, rather than herself, although I wouldn’t be honest if I said that she fails to get a thrill out of receiving gifts as well as giving them.”

Part of their holiday celebrations included packing up unneeded toys and games and giving them to children’s charities. O’Brien’s mother added that, during WWII, they spent Christmas Day visiting children whose fathers were away fighting.

“Some things have become tradition,” she continued, like driving down Hollywood’s Santa Claus Lane, listening to a boy’s choir sing carols and buying a gift for her mother.

Her mother continued, “I hope she will never lose the thrill of giving — or the wonderful lift in spirit that Christmas gives to us all.”

O’Brien and her mother shared a very close relationship, and the actress has credited her for keeping her safe in Hollywood.

“I was very fortunate to have a mother that spoke up to [studio head] Louis B. Mayer,” O’Brien told Page Six. “I think Judy [Garland]’s mother was afraid to speak up and didn’t really speak as she should have for Judy.”

She explained that, unlike her MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS co-star, she was not forced to lose weight or take amphetamines.

In an interview with Fox News, she reiterated this point, saying, “I’ve always enjoyed acting. I think that’s key. And my mother never forced me to pursue it. As a matter of fact, she would always say, ‘You don’t have to do this. If you ever want to stop, just say the word.’”

“When I wasn’t acting, my mother made sure I focused on my studies,” she added. “I attended a small studio school and then had a tutor while we were filming. But if I ever wanted to do something, like go to prom, I did it. I’m very lucky I had the kind of mother I had. And I still love acting. It gives me joy.”