Age gap relationships are nothing new in Hollywood, but the age gaps on some stars are certainly worth more than others. Case in point: Charlie Chaplin, who married Oona O’Neill in 1943. She was just a teenager and he was in his fifties.
Some may know that Charlie married several times, each time with a woman young enough to be his daughter. Only his third was in his early twenties when they married. Oona was his fourth (and last) wife. She was 17 when she met Charlie, who was in his early fifties. Granted, when they first met it had been strictly professional. Oona’s agent called Charlie to arrange a dinner, hoping she would score a role in the Hollywood legend’s film, ‘Shadow and Substance’. After initial hesitation, Charlie gave Oona the role, and although the film was never made, they met and fell in love.
Of course, the fact that Charlie and Oona had such a big age difference posed a problem, and the movie star wrote along “My Autobiography”, “At first I was afraid of the discrepancy in our ages” (via Internet Archive). Ultimately, the couple decided it wasn’t enough of a problem for them to end things (and more specifically, Oona was said to be “determined”), but not everyone was so nonchalant when the actor announced his plans to marry 18-year-old Oona. Her playwright father, Eugene O’Neill, wrote a letter to a friend saying he believed it was all nothing more than a stunt. Per “Oona: Living in the Shadow”, he called Oona a “cheap publicity grab,” lamenting the fact that he was the same age as Charlie but musing that the star was “probably older, because what actor reveals his real age (?)” (via Internet Archive). Yes.
Charlie’s sons were in love with Oona
There are marriages with age gaps, and there are marriages where one party is younger than the other party’s children and we think we should give Oona O’Neill and Charlie Chaplin some credit here. After all, Oona wasn’t younger then his eldest son, Charlie Chaplin Jr. She was the same age. To make matters worse, both Charlie Jr. as his brother Sydney befriended Oona when she started taking acting lessons with their father… and both fell in love with her.
In “Oona: Living in the Shadows,” Charlie Jr. wrote. about his future stepmother: ‘Her name sounds like a spring breeze – just as ethereal, just as beautiful as the girl herself’ (via Internet Archive). Charlie Jr. also wrote: ‘There was a calmness about her, a native sweetness that drew Syd and me to her.’ But Sydney knew better than to get his hopes up, and in a note to Charlie Jr. he remarked, “We might as well resign. Oona has an eye for daddy.’
Despite their huge age difference, it certainly seems like Charlie and Oona are ideally suited to each other. After all, they had no fewer than eight children together, including a son when Charlie was in his 70s. Perhaps not surprisingly, given how large their brood was, Charlie and Oona also welcomed several grandchildren, including a granddaughter Oona Chaplin (of ‘Game of Thrones’ fame). Charlie also dedicated his 1964 autobiography to his wife, writing in one passage, “I am fortunate to be married to a wonderful woman. I wish I could write more about this, but it’s about love, and perfect love is the most beautiful frustration because it’s more than you can express.” Maybe age is really just a number.
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