American leading lady of the 1930s and 1940s, Virginia Bruce was born in Minnesota but grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, and came to California to attend college. Her blond good looks got her an entry into films, and after a few extra roles and bit parts she began to make serious inroads as a leading woman in secondary films and as the "other" woman in more prestigious productions. She married screen legend John Gilbert, then in his decline. Subsequently she was married to director J. Walter Ruben and to Turkish producer/director Ali Ipar, for whom she appeared in some Turkish films all but unseen in America. She died in 1982. Pale-eyed blonde in lead Hollywood roles during the 30's to mid-40's, though often in "B" entries as well.
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layoutsSpouseAli Ipar (1952 - 1964) (divorced)
Ali Ipar (1946 - 1951) (divorced)
J. Walter Ruben (1937 - 4 September 1942) (his death) 1 childJohn Gilbert (1932 - 1934) (divorced) 1 daughterTriviaWas one of the 20 original 'Goldwyn Girls', along with Lucille Ball, Ann Dvorak, Paulette Goddard and Betty Grable.She was divorced from Ali Ipar for the first time in 1951 when he began his compulsory Turkish army service because Turkish law forbids commissions to men married to foreigners.Her daughter Susan Ann Gilbert was born in 1933. She also had a son in 1941.THE NEW YORK TIMES WROTE:Virginia Bruce
Actor: September 29, 1910 - Minneapolis, MNFrom All Movie Guide: The daughter of a golf-champion mother and insurance broker father, American actress Virginia Bruce entered films as a bit player and chorus dancer; she's easily recognizable as one of Jeanette MacDonald's ladies in waiting in The Love Parade (1929) and as a "Goldwyn Girl" (along with Betty Grable) in Whoopee (1931). The size of her roles increased in the early 1930s while at MGM, and in 1934 she was awarded her first major lead on loan-out to Monogram in the title role of Jane Eyre (1934), which costarred Colin Clive. Though this version of Jane Eyre would be eclipsed by the Joan Fontaine-Orson Welles remake in 1943, Ms. Bruce was charming and efficient as Charlotte Bronte's indomitable heroine. In 1936, Bruce played a character based on Marilyn Miller in The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and as such was center of attention in the unforgettable "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" production number. As it often happened with actresses, Ms. Bruce was given fewer good Hollywood opportunities as she got older. She made the most of her title role in The Invisible Woman (1941), carrying virtually her entire part in this sci-fi satire with only her voice, and she gamely withstood third billing to Abbott and Costello in Pardon My Sarong (1942); but it was clear that her starring days were numbered. Bruce enjoyed solid secondary parts in such films as Night Has 1000 Eyes (1948), and was quite effective as Kim Novak's mother in her last film, Strangers When We Meet (1960). Ms. Bruce made a few enjoyable talk-show and stage appearances in the 1960s, but all but disappeared from the scene in the 1970s. Married three times, Virginia Bruce's first husband was silent screen idol John Gilbert, with whom she costarred in Downstairs (1932), an obscure but lively melodrama for which Gilbert had written the screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
