Virginia Bruce was an American actress and singer.

Career

Born Helen Virginia Briggs in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, she went with her family to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 intending to enroll in the University of California

University of California

The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

 when a friendly wager sent her seeking film work. She got it as an extra in Why Bring That Up?

Why Bring That Up?

Why Bring That Up? is a 1929 American black-and-white musical film starring minstrel show comedians Charles Mack and George Moran.-Cast:*Charles Mack - Mack*George Moran - Moran*Evelyn Brent - Betty*Harry Green - Irving*Bert Swor - Bert...

. She was also in the Ziegfeld Follies

Ziegfeld Follies

The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....

. In 1930 she appeared on Broadway in the musical Smiles, followed by America's Sweetheart

America's Sweetheart (musical)

America’s Sweetheart is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields.-Production:America's Sweetheart premiered on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on February 10, 1931 and closed on June 6, 1931 after 135 performances...

in 1931.

Bruce returned to Hollywood in 1932, where she married John Gilbert

John Gilbert (actor)

John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw...

, her co-star in the film Downstairs

Downstairs (film)

Downstairs is a 1932 dramatic film. It stars John Gilbert as a charming but self-serving chauffeur who wreaks havoc on his new employer's household, romancing and fleecing the women on the staff, and blackmailing the employer's wife. Gilbert had written the story in 1928 for a proposed silent film...

. She retired briefly after the birth of their daughter Susan Ann Gilbert. The couple divorced in 1934, and Virginia returned to a hectic schedule of film appearances. Gilbert died in 1936. That same year, Bruce introduced the Cole Porter

Cole Porter

Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...

 standard "I've Got You Under My Skin

I've Got You Under My Skin (song)

"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by Cole Porter. It became a signature song for Frank Sinatra and, in 1966, became a top 10 hit for The Four Seasons...

" in the film Born to Dance

Born to Dance

Born to Dance is an American musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and directed by Roy Del Ruth.The film stars dancer Eleanor Powell and was a follow-up to her successful debut in Broadway Melody of 1936...

and costarred in the MGM musical The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld is a 1936 musical film produced by MGM. A fictionalized biography of Florenz Ziegfeld from his show business beginnings to his death, it showcases a series of spectacular musical productions. The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin...

. One of her final film appearances was in the 1960s Strangers When We Meet

Strangers When We Meet (film)

Strangers When We Meet is a 1960 drama film about two married neighbors who have an affair. The movie was adapted by Evan Hunter from his novel of the same name and directed by Richard Quine...

. Her final film appearance was in Madame Wang's in 1981.

Personal life and death

Bruce married film director J. Walter Ruben

J. Walter Ruben

Jacob Walter Ruben was an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He wrote for 35 films between 1926 and 1942...

 in 1937, making the Wallace Beery

Wallace Beery

Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...

 western

Western (genre)

The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...

 The Bad Man of Brimstone

The Bad Man of Brimstone

The Bad Man of Brimstone is a 1937 Western film starring Wallace Beery and Virginia Bruce, and directed by J. Walter Ruben. Beery's brother Noah Beery, Sr...

together that year, and they had a son named Christopher, but she was widowed in 1942. In 1946 she married Ali Ipar. They divorced in 1951 in order for him to receive a commission in the Turkish Military (which forbade promotions of men married to foreigners), but remarried in 1952.

Virginia Bruce died of cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 on February 24, 1982 in Woodland Hills, California

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...

.

Selected filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1929	Blue Skies	Party guest	Uncredited
	The Love Parade The Love Parade The Love Parade is a 1929 musical comedy film about the marital difficulties of Queen Louise of Sylvania and her consort, Count Alfred Renard...	Lady-in-Waiting	Uncredited
	Woman Trap Woman Trap Woman Trap is a 1929 American drama film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Evelyn Brent.- Cast :* Hal Skelly as Dan Malone* Chester Morris as Ray Malone* Evelyn Brent as Kitty Evans* William B. Davidson as Watts* Effie Ellsler as Mrs. Malone...
1930	Whoopee! Whoopee! (film) Whoopee is a 1930 "All-Talking All-Color" musical comedy film photographed in two-color Technicolor. The plot of the film closely followed the stage show produced by Florenz Ziegfeld in 1928.-Production:...	Goldwyn Girl	Uncredited
	Let's Go Native Let's Go Native Let's Go Native, is a 1930 American black-and-white musical comedy film, directed by Leo McCarey and released by Paramount Pictures.A very memorable, witty quote is when Jerry comments on being the only man on an island populated by women...	Chorus Girl	Uncredited
	Paramount on Parade Paramount on Parade Paramount on Parade is a all-star revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Victor Heerman, Lothar Mendes, Otto Brower, Edwin H...	Chorus Girl	Uncredited
	Follow Thru Follow Thru Follow Thru is a 1930 musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was the second all-color all-talking feature to be produced by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on the popular 1929 Broadway play of the same name by Frank Mandel and Laurence Schwab. The play ran from January...	Bit in Ladies Locker Room	Uncredited
	Slightly Scarlet Slightly Scarlet (1930 film) Slightly Scarlet is a 1930 American comedy film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and Edwin H. Knopf and starring Evelyn Brent.- Cast :* Evelyn Brent as Lucy Stavrin* Clive Brook as Hon...
1931	Hell Divers Hell Divers Hell Divers is a 1931 movie starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable as a pair of competing chief petty officers on board the USS Saratoga...	Girl	Scenes deleted
1932	The Miracle Man The Miracle Man (1932 film) The Miracle Man is a 1932 drama film directed by Norman Z. McLeod, starring Sylvia Sidney and featuring Boris Karloff. It is a remake of the 1919 film of the same name. The film was originally supposed to star Tyrone Power Sr, as the Preacher/Patriarch, but he died before major filming got underway...	Margaret Thornton
	Kongo Kongo (1932 film) Kongo is a 1932 talking Pre-Code film produced and distributed by MGM. It was directed by William J. Cowen and starred Walter Huston, reprising his 1926 Broadway stage role. Lupe Vélez and Virginia Bruce co-star with Huston in this filmization of the 1926 Broadway play, which starred Huston...	Ann Whitehall
1934	Jane Eyre Jane Eyre (1934 film) Jane Eyre is a 1934 American romantic drama film directed by Christy Cabanne, starring Virginia Bruce and Colin Clive. It is based on the 1847 novel of the same name by Charlotte Brontë, and is the first adaptation to use sound.- Plot summary :...	Jane Eyre
	The Mighty Barnum The Mighty Barnum The Mighty Barnum is a 1934 film starring Wallace Beery as P.T. Barnum. The movie was written by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, and directed by Walter Lang. Beery had played Barnum four years earlier in A Lady's Morals, a highly fictionalized biography of singer Jenny Lind.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as...	Jenny Lind
1935	Shadow of Doubt	Trenna Plaice
	Escapade Escapade (1935 film) Escapade is a 1935 romantic comedy film starring William Powell and Luise Rainer. A philandering painter falls in love, but a prior affair with a married woman causes complications.-Cast:*William Powell as Fritz*Luise Rainer as Leopoldine Dur...	Gerta
	The Murder Man The Murder Man The Murder Man is a 1935 crime-drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Virginia Bruce, and Lionel Atwill, and directed by Tim Whelan. It was Tracy's first film in what would be a twenty-year career with MGM. Tracy plays an investigative reporter who specializes in murder cases...	Mary Shannon
1936	The Great Ziegfeld The Great Ziegfeld The Great Ziegfeld is a 1936 musical film produced by MGM. A fictionalized biography of Florenz Ziegfeld from his show business beginnings to his death, it showcases a series of spectacular musical productions. The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin...	Audrey Dane
	Born to Dance Born to Dance Born to Dance is an American musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and directed by Roy Del Ruth.The film stars dancer Eleanor Powell and was a follow-up to her successful debut in Broadway Melody of 1936...	Lucy James
1937	When Love Is Young	Wanda Werner
	The Bad Man of Brimstone The Bad Man of Brimstone The Bad Man of Brimstone is a 1937 Western film starring Wallace Beery and Virginia Bruce, and directed by J. Walter Ruben. Beery's brother Noah Beery, Sr...	Loretta Douglas
1938	Arsène Lupin Returns	Lorraine de Grissac
	Yellow Jack Yellow jack The yellow jack, Carangoides bartholomaei , is a species of offshore marine fish in the jack family, Carangidae. It is one of only two representatives of its genus present in the Atlantic Ocean, inhabiting waters off the east coast of the Americas from Massachusetts in the north to Brazil in the...	Frances Blake
	There Goes My Heart There Goes My Heart There Goes My Heart is a 1938 romantic comedy film starring Virginia Bruce as a wealthy heiress who goes to work under an alias at a department store owned by her grandfather. Fredric March plays the reporter who tracks her down. The film is based on a story by Ed Sullivan, better known for his...	Joan Butterfield
1939	Society Lawyer Society Lawyer Society Lawyer is a 1939 crime film starring Walter Pidgeon and Virginia Bruce. It is a milder remake of the pre-Code Penthouse.-External links:*...	Pat Abbott
	Stronger Than Desire	Elizabeth Flagg
1940	Flight Angels	Mary Norvell
	The Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman is a science fiction, comedy film that was released near the end of 1940 by Universal. It is the third film follow Invisible Man and The Invisible Man Returns which had been released earlier in the year. The comedic writers Robert Lees and Fred Rinaldo wrote the screenplay in...	Kitty Carroll
1941	Adventure in Washington	Jane Scott	Alternative title: Female Correspondent
1942	Pardon My Sarong Pardon My Sarong -Plot:Tommy Layton , a wealthy bachelor, rents a city bus and rides it from Chicago to Los Angeles. Once there he intends to participate in a yacht race to Hawaii. The drivers of the bus, Algy and Wellington , are then chased by a detective who was hired by the bus company. They escape capture by...	Joan Marshall
	Careful, Soft Shoulder	Connie Mathers
1944	Action in Arabia	Yvonne Danesco
	Brazil	Nicky Henderson	Alternative title: Stars and Guitars
1945	Love, Honor and Goodbye	Roberta Baxter
1948	Night Has a Thousand Eyes Night Has a Thousand Eyes Night Has a Thousand Eyes is a 1948 film noir, starring Edward G. Robinson and directed by John Farrow. The screenplay was written by Barré Lyndon and Jonathan Latimer. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Cornell Woolrich.- Plot :...	Jenny Courtland
1949	State Department: File 649	Margaret "Marge" Weldon	Alternative title: Assignment in China
1954	Salgin	Nurse	Alternative titles: Epidemic Istanbul
1955	Reluctant Bride Reluctant Bride Reluctant Bride is a 1955 British comedy film.-Plot:Jeff Longstreet and Laura Weeks are paired together to take care of a group of wild children whose parents are lost on an African safari...	Laura Weeks	Alternative title: Two Grooms for a Bride
1960	Strangers When We Meet Strangers When We Meet (film) Strangers When We Meet is a 1960 drama film about two married neighbors who have an affair. The movie was adapted by Evan Hunter from his novel of the same name and directed by Richard Quine...	Mrs. Wagner
1981	Madame Wang's	Madame Wang
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1953	General Electric Theater General Electric Theater General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...	Adele	1 episode
1955	Letter to Loretta	Dee Norman	1 episode
	Science Fiction Theatre Science Fiction Theatre Science Fiction Theatre is an American science fiction anthology series that aired in syndication from April 1955 to April 1957. It was produced by Ivan Tors and Maurice Ziv.-Overview:...	Dr. Myrna Griffin Jean Gordon	2 episodes
1957	The Ford Television Theatre	Ruth Crest	1 episode

External links

• Photographs of Virginia Bruce