Age gap relationships are nothing new in Hollywood, but some stars’ age gaps have certainly been more worthy of admiration than others. Case in point: Charlie Chaplin, who married Oona O’Neill in 1943. She was just a teenager and he was in his 50s.
Some may know that Charlie was married several times, each time to a woman young enough to be his daughter. Only the third was in her early 20s when they married. Oona was his fourth (and last) wife. She was 17 when she met Charlie, who was in his early 50s. Of course, when they met, it had been strictly professional. Oona’s agent called Charlie to schedule a dinner, hoping she would land a role in the Hollywood legend’s film, “Shadow and Substance.” After some initial hesitation, Charlie gave the role to Oona and, although the film was never made, they got to know each other and fell in love.
Of course, the fact that Charlie and Oona had such a large age difference presented a problem, and the movie star wrote in “My autobiography” “At first I was afraid of the age difference” (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. His father, the playwright Eugene O’Neill, wrote a letter to a friend telling him that he believed the whole thing was nothing more than a trick. By “Oona: Living in the Shadows” referred to Oona as a “cheap publicity getter,” lamenting the fact that she was the same age as Charlie, but reflecting that the star was “probably older, because what actor gives their real age(?)” (via Internet Archive). Oh.
Charlie’s children were in love with Oona.
There are marriages with age differences and there are Marriages in which one of the parties is younger than the other’s children. and we guess we have to give Oona O’Neill and Charlie Chaplin some credit here. After all, Oona was not younger than her eldest son, Charlie Chaplin Jr. She was the same age. To make matters worse, both Charlie Jr. and his brother Sydney became friends with Oona when she started taking acting lessons with her father… and they both fell in love with her.
According to “Oona: Living in the Shadows,” Charlie Jr. wrote of his future stepmother: “Her name sounds like a spring breeze: as ethereal, as lovely as the girl herself” (via Internet Archive). Charlie Jr. also wrote: “There was a calm about her, a native sweetness that drew Syd and me to her.” But Sydney knew better than to get her hopes up, and in a note to Charlie Jr., she noted, “It’s worth saying goodbye. Oona has eyes for Dad.”
Despite their huge age difference, it certainly seems like Charlie and Oona were ideal for each other. After all, they had eight children together, including a son when Charlie was 70 years old. Perhaps not surprising, given the size of his brood, Charlie and Oona also welcomed several grandchildren, including their granddaughter. Oona Chaplin (famous for “Game of Thrones”). Charlie also dedicated his 1964 autobiography to his wife, writing in one passage: “I am lucky to be married to a wonderful wife. I wish I could write more about this, but it involves love, and perfect love is the most beautiful frustration because it is more than one can express.” Maybe age really is just a number.
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