Helen O'Hara is a Northern Irish film critic and journalist, primarily known for working for ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine, for which she is
editor-at-large.
Early life
O'Hara was born in
Portstewart
Portstewart () is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,003 people in the 2011 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade lead ...
,
County Londonderry, in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
She has said that she has always been a fan of film, with one of her earliest memories being to see ''
Return of the Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'' in the cinema, but thought she had to choose a "sensible" career and so studied law.
Career
O'Hara studied law and began a career in it, but was unhappy with it and "bored out of
ertiny mind".
[ She quit her job as a barrister and, a few months later, got an intern interview for '']Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
''. Though she had no journalistic experience, she says that the magazine had misplaced her CV, so her deep knowledge of the magazine got her the job.[ She became an intern and then ]staff writer
In journalism, a staff writer byline indicates that the author of the article is an employee of the periodical, as opposed to being an independent freelance writer. In Britain, staff writers may work in the office instead of traveling to cover a b ...
at ''Empire'', a role she held for eleven years before going freelance and contributing to other publications. She has said that during her early years at ''Empire'', she was the only full-time female writer, and feels that some of the continued lack of female critics is a consequence of society discouraging women from having strong opinions in general and because women "get more flak" for holding opinions than men:[ "''Empire'' had three staffers called Ian and about the same number of women".
She co-hosts the Empire podcast for ''Empire''. Starting in 2012 during awards season, with David Roy of ''The Irish Times'' noting this was "long before everyone and their silver surfing granny had their own podcast", it is seen as one of the forces maintaining the success of ''Empire''.][ The podcast went on a live UK tour in 2019, with filmmakers coming on as guests during the live recordings in front of crowds. O'Hara felt that the tour was risky, as they did not know if it would work, but that it was successful. As of 2019, O'Hara is a freelance film writer and the editor-at-large of ''Empire''.][
In addition to her work with ''Empire'', O'Hara contributes to the ]BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
podcast. She also contributes to ''
's film reporting. She wrote the book ''The Ultimate Superhero Movie Guide'', published in 2020. She wrote the 2021 book ''Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film''.