Virginia Bruce was a multifaceted American actress and singer, born Helen Virginia Briggs on September 29, 1910, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her family relocated to Los Angeles in 1928, where she initially aimed to enroll in the University of California, Los Angeles. However, a friendly wager led her to seek work in the film industry, landing her a role as an extra in the 1928 film Why Bring That Up?. This marked the beginning of her extensive career in Hollywood.
Virginia's early success on Broadway included appearances in the musicals Smiles in 1930 and America's Sweetheart in 1931. She returned to Hollywood in 1932 and married her co-star John Gilbert, with whom she starred in the film Downstairs. The couple had a daughter, Susan Ann Gilbert, before divorcing in 1934. Tragically, John Gilbert passed away in 1936.
Virginia continued to thrive in the film industry, introducing the iconic Cole Porter standard "I've Got You Under My Skin" in the 1936 film Born to Dance. She co-starred alongside Fred Astaire in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical The Great Ziegfeld, and one of her final film appearances was in the 1960 drama Strangers When We Meet.
In addition to her film work, Virginia also ventured into radio, starring in the daily 30-minute drama series Make Believe Town on CBS in 1949. Her personal life was marked by multiple marriages, including to film director J. Walter Ruben, with whom she had a son, Christopher, born in 1941. Ruben passed away in 1942, and Virginia remarried Ali Ipar in 1952, only to divorce him again in 1964.
Virginia Bruce left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, passing away on February 24, 1982, at the age of 71 due to cancer at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.
