Virginia Bruce (born Helen Virginia Briggs;[3] September 29, 1910 – February 24, 1982) was an American actress and singer.
Bruce was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As an infant she moved with her parents, Earil and Margaret Briggs, to Fargo, North Dakota. The city directory of Fargo documents that the Briggs family lived there at 421 14th Street South. After Bruce graduated from Fargo Central High School in 1928,[4][5] she moved with her family to Los Angeles intending to enroll at the University of California, Los Angeles when a friendly wager sent her seeking film work.[citation needed]
Bruce's first screen work was in 1929 as an extra for Paramount in Why Bring That Up? In 1930, she appeared on Broadway in the musical Smiles at the Ziegfeld Theatre, followed by the Broadway production America's Sweetheart in 1931.[6]
Bruce returned to Hollywood in 1932, where she began work in early August at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on the film Kongo starring Walter Huston. During production on that project, on August 10, she married John Gilbert (her first, his fourth) with whom she recently costarred in Downstairs.[7][8] The Film Daily reported that the couple's "quick" wedding was held in Gilbert's dressing room on the studio lot. Among the people attending the small ceremony were the head of MGM production Irving Thalberg, who served as the groom's best man; screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart, whose wife Beatrice acted as matron of honor; MGM art director and set designer Cedric Gibbons; and his wife, actress Dolores del Río.[8]
Bruce retired briefly from acting after the birth of their daughter Susan Ann, although she returned to film appearances after her divorce from Gilbert (caused by his alcoholism) in May 1934.[9] Gilbert died of a heart attack in 1936.
Bruce is credited with introducing the Cole Porter standard "I've Got You Under My Skin" in the 1936 film Born to Dance. The same year, she costarred in the MGM musical The Great Ziegfeld. She also performed periodically on radio. In 1949, for example, Bruce starred in Make Believe Town, a 30-minute afternoon drama broadcast daily on CBS Radio.[10] In the early 1960s, she retired from films.
Bruce married American film director J. Walter Ruben in 1937.[11]
Bruce was a Democrat who supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.[12]
Bruce died of cancer at age 71 on February 24, 1982, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital[3] in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.
