The Biography

Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to acting, and made her English-language acting debut (and came to prominence in what would be a Golden Globe-nominated role) in her portrayal of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago (1965). She made her Broadway acting debut in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes in 1967, and played the role of ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti in Raúl Araiza's Nefertiti and Akhenaton (1973), alongside famous Egyptian actor Salah Zulfikar. Chaplin received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville (1975). She received a BAFTA nomination for her role in Welcome to L. A. (1976). She played her grandmother Hannah Chaplin in the biopic Chaplin (1992), for which she received her third Golden Globe nomination. Chaplin has appeared in a wide variety of critically recognized Spanish and French films. She starred in Les Uns et les Autres (1981), Life Is a Bed of Roses (1983) and the Jacques Rivette experimental films Noroît (1976) and Love on the Ground (1984). She was the partner of director Carlos Saura for 12 years until 1979, starring in his films Ana and the Wolves (1973), Cría Cuervos (1976), Elisa, vida mía (1977), and Mamá cumple cien años (1979). She was awarded a Goya Award for her role in En la ciudad sin límites (2002), and was nominated again for The Orphanage (2007). Her contribution to Spanish cinema culminated in her being awarded the Gold Medal by the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences in 2006.