Virginia Cherrill: Movies & Box Office

Virginia Cherrill was born on April 12, 1908, on a farm near Carthage, Illinois, the daughter of James E. and Blanche (née Wilcox) Cherrill. She attended schools in Chicago and Kenosha, Wisconsin, where her poise and good looks earned her the title of "Queen of the Artists Ball" in 1925, an honor that briefly opened doors to the world of stage performance. Although she declined an offer from Florenz Ziegfeld, her friendships—particularly with future actress Sue Carol—eventually steered her toward Hollywood, where a chance meeting with William Randolph Hearst and a serendipitous encounter with Charlie Chaplin at a boxing match set her on a cinematic path. Chaplin quickly cast her as the blind flower girl in the 1931 classic City Lights, a role that showcased her subtle emotional range and made her a household name despite the notoriously strained relationship on set, which included a brief dismissal and a heated negotiation over her salary. Following the success of City Lights, 20th Century Fox signed her to a contract, and she appeared in early sound pictures such as Girls Demand Excitement, The Brat (directed by John Ford), and Fast Workers under Tod Browning, as well as the Gershwin musical Delicious with Janet Gaynor. Her career later shifted to Britain, where she co‑starred with James Mason in films like Troubled Waters, but diminishing box‑office returns and her own modest assessment of her talent led her to retire from acting by 1936. Cherrill’s personal life was marked by four high‑profile marriages: first to Chicago lawyer Irving Adler (1925‑1928), then to Hollywood star Cary Grant (1934‑1935), followed by a union with George Child‑Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (1937‑1946), which granted her the title Countess of Jersey, and finally to Polish aviator Florian Martini, a marriage that endured until her death. Despite the publicity surrounding her engagements—such as an aborted wedding to William Rhinelander Stewart Jr.—she never bore children. Virginia Cherrill passed away on November 14, 1996, in Santa Barbara, California, leaving behind a Hollywood Walk of Fame star at 1545 Vine Street as a testament to her enduring legacy.