Virginia Walker

Virginia May Walker Hawks (July 31, 1908 – December 23, 1946) was an American model and film actress. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she studied Japanese art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and pursued a modeling career in national magazine advertisements, through which she was spotted by a Universal Pictures scout and signed to a film contract. Upon arriving in Hollywood, she met filmmaker Howard Hawks, who negotiated her release from Universal and signed her to a personal contract. She made her film debut in Hawks's Bringing Up Baby, and the following year married Hawks's brother William. After their 1942 divorce, she appeared in four more feature film roles, three of them uncredited, for 20th Century Fox.

Early life and education Virginia May Walker was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 31, 1908. She was the only daughter of William Homer Walker (1869–1912), a local attorney, and Eva M. Walker (née Perry), originally from Paris. She was a member of the Junior League of Boston.

Early work Walker began modeling in national magazine advertisements for various companies, including a car manufacturer and a garment designer. Additionally, she created a skin care product which she manufactured in her home kitchen.

She put aside her screen career upon her marriage in 1938, but resumed it after her 1942 divorce. In the second part of her career, she signed with 20th Century Fox

Personal life Walker married film producer William Hawks, brother of Howard Hawks, in June 1938 in Mexico. It was the second marriage for Hawks.

Walker died on December 23, 1946, after a months-long illness and a surgical procedure at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. A requiem mass was held for her at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills.

Filmography

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