Geraldine Chaplin inherited the right genes for success in the entertainment business. Geraldine's father was the legendary filmmaker Charlie Chaplin (probably best known for his cane-wielding role as the Little Tramp) and her mother was Oona O’Neill, the daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eugene O’Neill. Geraldine Chaplin’s award-winning film credits include her depiction of her own paternal grandmother, the troubled music hall performer Hannah Chaplin, in the 1992 biopic Chaplin.
Life and times of a famous family:
- That role earned Geraldine her third Golden Globe nomination. She also had notable roles in David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago and the Robert Altman films Nashville and A Wedding.
- Born in 1944, Geraldine Chaplin was the first of Charlie Chaplin's eight children with Oona O'Neill, his fourth and final wife. Oona was 18 when she married the 53-year-old Charlie.
- In 1978, three months after Charlie Chaplin’s death at age 88, kidnappers dug up his body and demanded $600,000 USD for its return. During negotiations, police traced phone calls to two Eastern European mechanics, who were promptly arrested. The body was later found buried in a Swiss cornfield.