The love story of Charles Chaplin and Oona O’Neill, a union that their 36-year age gap couldn’t tear apart

In 1943, actor Charlie Chaplin was 54 years old and announced that he would marry for the fourth time. The world received the news with much surprise because the groom was 36 years older than the bride. But the expectation that the story would end quickly did not materialize and the world saw another beautiful love story come to fruition.

we, from awesome.club, we are sure that someday someone will make a movie about this couple. For now, we want you to discover how one of the best actors in history found happiness with the woman he loved.

Oona O’Neill, also known as Oona Chaplin, was the daughter of Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eugene O’Neill and writer Agnes Boulton. The marriage didn’t last long, but the daughter never lacked for anything and she grew up in downtown New York and had a brilliant upbringing.

Oona frequented high society and had many admirers, among them the writer Truman Capote. She also had an affair with the famous writer J. D. Salinger. At the age of 17, the young woman decided to become an actress. Oona hired an agent who began trying to convince Chaplin to give her a role in one of his films.

It all happened in 1942. At that time, Chaplin wasn’t just a successful actor; he was a director and producer and almost a living legend. However, his personal life was not easy: he had already been divorced 3 times and Hollywood knew he was interested in younger women. His first two wives were just 16 years old when they got married. And it was in this context that the actor met the beautiful and also young Oona O’Neill.

According to Chaplin himself, as soon as he saw the young woman’s smile, his bad mood disappeared. He fell in love and felt the feeling was mutual🇧🇷 However, there was a 36-year gap between them. But Oona and Chaplin didn’t seem to care much about it. The movie genius was not only enchanted by the actress’ talent; he was fascinated by her intelligence and personality.

Few people believed that there could be real feelings in this relationship, but neither the rumors nor the letters from Oona’s father threatening to cut ties were able to contain the couple. They were married on June 16, 1943. The news that Oona and Chaplin were together left Salinger very impressed: at that time, the famous writer was fighting in World War II and it is said that he would ask her to marry him when he returned. Almost no one was able to imagine that the relationship between Oona and Chaplin would last 34 years.

After the wedding, Oona abandoned her dream of being an actress and decided to dedicate herself entirely to her family. The actor has stated on several occasions that she was the incarnation of an ideal wife and that he was very lucky with her. “I was happy: I finally had a real wife by my side, not a woman who wanted to be famous. I knew Oona could become a great comic actress; she had an excellent, subtle sense of humor, but she didn’t want to share it with anyone.”

The couple had 8 children and the youngest was born when Chaplin was 73 years old. According to family friends, there was a peaceful atmosphere at home and the parents did their best to support the children’s initiatives without forcing them to do anything they didn’t want to do.

The children grew into creative adults and many also went to work in the world of cinema.🇧🇷 His son, Eugene, worked as director of the Geneva Opera, filmed documentaries and to this day is president of the Vevey International Comedy Film Festival in Switzerland. His eldest daughter, Geraldine, perhaps the most famous of them all, had a beautiful acting career and acted in a film by Pedro Almodóvar. Geraldine’s daughter is also called Oona and continued the family tradition: she is an actress and her most famous work was the role of Talisa, Robb Stark’s wife in Game of Thrones.

Geraldine with daughter Oona

Starting in the 1930s, the FBI began to gather information about Chaplin to expel him from the US: the actor was being investigated for anti-American activities and was considered a communist. In 1952, Chaplin went to London to present his new film, spotlightsand after the performance, discovered that his entry into the United States had been banned. Oona helped carry all her things to Europe and in solidarity with her husband, she decided to refuse American citizenship.

The Chaplin family decided to settle in a very cozy home in Lausanne, Switzerland. They didn’t go out much, but they had a lot of visitors. It was not until 1972 that the couple returned to the United States, when Chaplin received an honorary Oscar. The film genius continued to work, but went on to shoot films in the UK: he wrote screenplays, directed films and acted in some of them. Ultimately, he was knighted (Sir) by Queen Elizabeth II and his wife became Lady Oona Chaplin.

Charlie Chaplin passed away in his sleep at his own home at the age of 88. After her husband’s death, Oona moved to New York. She stayed there for a short time and decided to return to Switzerland, where she lived in the same house until her death, 14 years after her husband’s death, at the age of 66.

Did you know the love story of this comedy genius? Share your impressions in the comments section.