1. Virginia Walker made her film debut in Hawks's Bringing Up Baby, and the following year married Hawks's brother William.
16 Facts About Virginia Walker
1. 2.
Virginia May Walker was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 31,1908.
3.
Virginia Walker was the only daughter of William Homer Walker, a local attorney, and Eva M Walker, originally from Paris.
4.
At age 10, Virginia Walker moved to Miami and eventually graduated from Miami High School.
5.
Virginia Walker returned to Boston to study Japanese art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, with a specialty in Japanese prints.
6.
Virginia Walker was a member of the Junior League of Boston.
7.
Virginia Walker began modeling in national magazine advertisements for various companies, including a car manufacturer and a garment designer.
8.
Virginia Walker performed in amateur stage productions in Brookline, including dramatic plays staged by the Harvard Dramatic Club and comedies produced by the Hasty Pudding Club.
9.
In 1935, Walker responded to a call for "new faces" by Hollywood filmmaker Cecil B DeMille, who sought a new actress for his production of Samson and Delilah.
10.
Virginia Walker was ultimately not chosen for a screen test, but in June 1937, a Universal Pictures scout saw Walker's picture in a magazine advertisement for a soap product, signed her to a contract, and brought her to Hollywood.
11.
Virginia Walker negotiated Walker's release from Universal and signed her to a personal contract.
12.
Virginia Walker was one of the first actresses whom Hawks signed to a personal contract, and was loaned to RKO to appear in Hawks's 1938 film Bringing Up Baby.
13.
Virginia Walker made her film debut playing Alice Swallow, the fiancee of Cary Grant's character.
14.
Virginia Walker put aside her screen career upon her marriage in 1938, but resumed it after her 1942 divorce.
15.
Virginia Walker married film producer William Hawks, brother of Howard Hawks, in June 1938 in Mexico.
16.
Virginia Walker died on December 23,1946, after a months-long illness and a surgical procedure at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.