Maria O'Brien, “Protocol” and "Matlock" Actress," Dies at 75

TV actress Maria O'Brien died at the age of 75 on Feb. 24, according to reports

NEED TO KNOW

• O'Brien was the daughter of famous actors Edmond O'Brien and Olga San Juan

• Her acting credits include the TV shows Sam Benedict (1963), Viva Valdez (1976), The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts (1980), Matlock (1988) and the film Protocol (1984)
  

Maria O'Brien, an actress onMatlockandProtocol, has died. She was 75.

The actress and acting coach died on Feb. 24,DeadlineandThe Hollywood Reporterreported. Her cause of death has not been revealed at this time.

O'Brien came from a famous acting family in Los Angeles. She was the daughter of Oscar-winning actor Edmond O'Brien, who died in 1985, and musical comedy star Olga San Juan, who died in 2009.

O'Brien's first acting credit was in an episode of the 1963 TV showSam Benedict. She had a successful acting career over the next three decades, appearing on several TV shows, includingViva Valdez(1976),The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts(1980),Quincy, M.E.(1980-82) andMatlock(1988).

The late actress also appeared in several films includingShell Game(1975),Choirboys(1977),Prime Time(1977),The Incredible Shrinking Woman(1980) andProtocol(1984), starring opposite Goldie Hawn, Jean Smart and Richard Romanus.

Advertisement

Later in her career, O'Brien worked as an acting coach on the daytime drama seriesSunset BeachandPassions. She then secured a position as an acting coach on the soap operaDays of Our Lives, where she remained for over 15 years up until she retired in 2022, perTHR.

In 1983, O'Brien testified before Congress about the devastating effects of Alzheimer's Disease, following her father's diagnosis with the disease. Her father was one of the first actors to be publicly diagnosed with the disease, per Deadline.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

O'Brien's death comes after her brother, voice actor Brendan O'Brien, died in 2023.

The actress is survived by her three children: Thomas, Danica and Sean Anderson, and her sister Bridget O'Brien Adelman.

Read the original article onPeople

byMario Satorik

in

March 04, 2026

Maria O'Brien, “Protocol” and "Matlock" Actress," Dies at 75

TV actress Maria O'Brien died at the age of 75 on Feb. 24, according to reports NEED TO KNOW O'Brien...

Read More

Mark Consuelos says taping 'Live' changes intimacy with Kelly Ripa

Mark Consuelosis offering anintimatelook at his life withwife Kelly Ripabehind-the-scenes.

The 54-year-old actor, whocohosts "Live With Kelly and Mark"alongside his spouse, said during a broadcast Tuesday, March 3, that taping the show has gotten in the way of his preference for morning sex.

Consuelos' confession came after the hosts welcomed guestChrista Millerto the program.The "Shrinking" star, 61, quickly took aim atConsuelos for his previous confessionthat he prefers intimacy in the morning, while Ripa does not.

Happy birthday, Kelly Ripa! The beloved TV host turns 55 on Oct. 2, 2025. To celebrate her big day, we've rounded up photos of her life and career through the years.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Ripa and Mark Consuelos cohost "Live with Kelly and Mark." Consuelos, Ripa's husband and former "All My Children" costar, joined "Live with Kelly" as her cohost on April 17, 2023.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Ripa and Consuelos cohost "Live with Kelly and Mark" for the last time at 7 Lincoln Square on April 1, 2025. Ripa marked 25 years on "Live" in 2025, tying Oprah Winfrey's record as the longest-running female daytime talk show host.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Ripa and Consuelos cohost "Live with Kelly and Mark" on Oct. 1, 2024. The couple won, as cohosts, the Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding talk show host in June 2024.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Ripa attended the 91st Academy Awards with her husband, Consuelos. The two tied the knot in May 1996 and have three children together: Michael, Lola, and Joaquin. 

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> From left, Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa and former "Live!" cohost Ryan Seacrest attends the 95th annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023, in Hollywood.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The actress and TV personality officially got her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in October 2015.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Talk about a grand appearance! Ripa came onstage at the 10th annual TV Land Awards in April 2012 in a Catwoman costume. 

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Aw, throwback! Philbin surprised his "Live with Regis" viewers when revealing that Kelly Ripa would be his permanent cohost in 2001. 

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Kelly Ripa's career, from soap operas to 'Live!' TV host success with Mark Consuelos

Happy birthday, Kelly Ripa! The beloved TV host turns 55 on Oct. 2, 2025. To celebrate her big day, we've rounded up photos of her life and career through the years.

"I have something to say. I watch this show, I'm a fan," Miller said. "And, Mark, I'm going to say this with love. There's no morning sex. No one likes it. And not even on the weekends." Consuelos then admitted that their new filming schedule leaves little time for it. "I've got to tell you, this job has really gotten in the way of that. It's been the antidote for it," he said.

Advertisement

Kelly Ripa marks 25 years on'Live!' yet still feels like the 'new girl'

"We also don't fall for the, 'I just want to cuddle you' in the morning," Miller quipped, with Ripa then chiming in to say: "I always say spooning leads to forking."

Ripa, who met Consuelos on the set of soap opera "All My Children," succeeded Kathie Lee Gifford as Regis Philbin's permanent cohost in 2001. The show became "Live with Regis and Kelly" until Philbin retired in 2011. Ripa has now been the top host for 25 years, taking the chair with cohosts Michael Strahan (2012–16), Ryan Seacrest (2017–23) and now Consuelos.

In a previousinterview with USA TODAY, Ripa said she was surprised by how well it worked when Consuelos filled in permanently.

"We thought it was a terrible idea. It's like who wants to see two married people bicker every morning," she said. "It turns out it's very interesting and relatable."

Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Mark Consuelos says show with Kelly Ripa settled morning sex debate

byMario Satorik

in

March 04, 2026

Mark Consuelos says taping 'Live' changes intimacy with Kelly Ripa

Mark Consuelosis offering anintimatelook at his life withwife Kelly Ripabehind-the-scenes. The 54-year-old a...

Read More

Valerie Bertinelli Reveals She Was Sexually Abused at Age 11: ‘I Don't Feel Shame About It Anymore. I’m Pissed Off That It Happened’ (Exclusive)

Valerie Bertinelli reveals in her new memoir Getting Naked that she was sexually abused at age 11, telling PEOPLE in this week's cover story, "It doesn't feel like it owns me anymore."

NEED TO KNOW

• The star, 65, says that the process of opening up about it has taken her "at least" a decade as she was forced to confront shame and self-criticism that was rooted in her childhood trauma.

• Calling herself "a survivor," Bertinelli credits her son Wolfgang Van Halen, cooking and her work on The Drew Barrymore Show with helping her move forward and focus on the positive.

"I had no plans to reveal this," saysValerie Bertinelli. "This was going to be a book about teaching people how to love themselves. I did not know that I would go this far."

For the first time, the star, 65, is revealing that she was sexually abused at 11 years old.

"I guess because I'm healing from it, it's not so scary anymore," Bertinelli tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. "I can say it out loud. I was sexually assaulted. It doesn't feel like it owns me anymore."

It's part of the "raw truth" that Bertinellii shares in her new book,Getting Naked,out on March 10 from Harper Wave. "It's about getting getting naked with who I am, emotionally, physically," she says. "It was really about getting to the nitty gritty and getting to the parts that I thought were shameful and come to find out they're not. They're all kinds of different facets of what makes us who we are."

To open that chapter of the book, Bertinelli "purposely" included a picture of herself at 11 years old "because that was the little girl that was sexually abused," she says. "And it boggles my mind that this little girl was taken advantage of that way. It boggles my mind because it's still happening ... and I'm furious about it. And we need to start speaking up and saying, 'Enough.'"

"It's taken me 10 years at least," she explains of her decision to come forward. "The very first time I said it out loud to my therapist, I thoughtI'm going to feel better now.It got worse before it got better. I maybe ate a little bit more, drank a little bit more. When you stop eating things for comfort, stop drinking alcohol, it exposes your feelings. You can deal with them or not. And I chose to deal with them. I don't feel shame about it anymore. I'm pissed off that it happened. Nobody deserves that."

And then came 2024, a rough year for Bertinelli. "I had a huge anxiety attack at the end of 2024 that brought me to my knees," she says. "And I thoughtI'm not getting anywhere. I needed to do more work." That meant digging into what was behind the body shame and the self criticism that she'd long held over the years.

"All of that shame had nothing to do with my body," she says. "It was just something to take out my shame on. My poor body. I was so mean to it. I just needed to get all those voices out of my head. As I was going through that, I'm thinking people are going to wonder, why do I have so much self loathing? That's not normal. It's because trauma happened in my childhood for the most part. I can't speak for anybody else but it's pretty textbook."

Advertisement

Asked what she was like at 11 years old, she says, "I loved to color, read, play with my Barbies and ride my bike around the block. I loved my cats.  I was just a little girl."

Looking back, she simply says, "I'm a survivor."

Through all the turmoil, Bertinelli still leads with her heart. It's all part of the emotional connection she shares with fans who've followed her for decades, from the time she was 15 years old onOne Day at a Time, toHot in Cleveland (with her good friendBetty White) and now as part of the "Drew Crew" onThe Drew Barrymore Show.

She credits her work on the show withDrew Barrymore, which she calls "an oasis," and the love and support of her son,Wolfgang Van Halen, and her love of cooking with helping her heal. And she's focusing on the positive, along with her new digital platform,Valerie's Place. "I want to build a community where everybody is welcome. It's a place where people can come in to my kitchen and cook with me because I've missed that a lot."

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.

Take PEOPLE with you!Subscribe to PEOPLE magazineto get the latest details on celebrity news, exclusive royal updates, how-it-happened true crime stories and more — right to your mailbox.

Getting Nakedby Valerie Bertinelli comes out March 10 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.

Read the original article onPeople

byMario Satorik

in

March 04, 2026

Valerie Bertinelli Reveals She Was Sexually Abused at Age 11: ‘I Don't Feel Shame About It Anymore. I’m Pissed Off That It Happened’ (Exclusive)

Valerie Bertinelli reveals in her new memoir Getting Naked that she was sexually abused at age 11, telling PEOPLE in th...

Read More