Geraldine Chaplin

**Geraldine Leigh Chaplin** (born 31 July 1944) is an American-born British actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin and Oona O'Neill.

She is best known for her 1965 Golden Globe nominated role of Tonya in David Lean's movie, _Doctor Zhivago_.  She received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's _Nashville_ in 1975.  She also acted in his other movies, _Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson_ in 1976 and _A Wedding_ in 1978.

She received a BAFTA nomination for her role in _Welcome to L.A._ in 1976. She played her grandmother, Hannah Chaplin in the movie, _Chaplin_ in 1992 and received her third Golden Globe nomination. She has also acted in _The Age of Innocence_ in 1993, _Home for the Holidays_ in 1995, and _Jane Eyre_ in 1996.

## Career

When Chaplin was eight years old, she acted in her father's movie _Limelight_. She studied at the Royal Ballet School, in hopes of becoming a ballet dancer.  When that did not work out, she became an actress instead.

David Lean chose her to play Tonya, the wife of the leading role, in his movie _Doctor Zhivago_.  In an interview about the movie, she said "Because of my name, the right doors opened."

In 1967, she acted in a famous play in the Broadway theatre, Lillian Hellman's _The Little Foxes_. Her performance was praised in a review in _The New York Times_. Cliff Barnes wrote that Chaplin "acts with spirit and force," all the while "acting with a magnificently raw-voiced sincerity" in what was a performance of "surprising power."

Chaplin has also acted in several Spanish and French films. She received a Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in a Spanish-Argentine movie, _In the City Without Limits_ in 2001.

In 2018, she starred as Iris in _Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom_.

## Personal life

Geraldine Chaplin was born in Santa Monica, California. She was the fourth child of the movie star Charlie Chaplin. She was the first of his eight children with his fourth and last wife, Oona O'Neill.  Her grandfather was the Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright Eugene O'Neill. When Geraldine was eight years old, the family moved to Switzerland, where she went to school. This is where she learned to speak both French and Spanish.

In 1978 the Chaplin family were the victims of a plot by kidnappers who had stolen the body of Charlie Chaplin for ransom. Geraldine negotiated with the kidnappers, who threatened to shoot her baby son in the knees.

After living in Spain for over 25 years, Chaplin left in 1992 because of personal difficulties. She moved back to her family home in Vevey, Switzerland.
She married Patricio Castilla in 2006. She has two children and a godson:  She has a home beside the beach in Miami and also spends time living in Madrid and Switzerland.

## Other websites

- Geraldine Chaplin at the Internet Broadway Database
- Geraldine Chaplin at AllMovie

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Geraldine Chaplin
- **image**: Geraldine Chaplin 2014 (cropped).jpg
- **caption**: Chaplin in Brazil, August 2014
- **birthname**: Geraldine Leigh Chaplin
- **birth place**: Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica, California, U.S.
- **occupation**: Actress
- **yearsactive**: 1952–present
- **spouse**: Patricio Castilla (2006–present)
- **partner**: Carlos Saura (1967–1979)
- **children**: 2, including Oona Chaplin
- **parents**: Charlie Chaplin
 Oona O'Neill