Josephine Gardin-Chaplin, an actress and daughter of Sir Charlie Chaplin, has died at the age of 74 in France.
A funeral service for Gardin-Chaplin – whose mother was Sir Charlie’s fourth wife, the British-American actress Oona O’Neill – was held on Friday at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
The Chaplin office in Paris, which represents the comedian’s companies and his family, confirmed that Gardin-Chaplin died in the French capital on July 13th.
It said in a statement: “She passed away peacefully, surrounded by her beloved family and friends.
“For years, Josephine managed the Chaplin office in Paris on behalf of her siblings until she took leave to care for her husband Jean-Claude Gardin.
“Our deepest condolences are with her family.”
Gardin-Chaplin had previously married Nicholas Sistovaris and was in a relationship with the French actor Maurice Ronet, star of Purple Noon, until his death in the 1980s. French archaeologist Gardin died around 10 years ago.
Born on March 28, 1949, in California, she followed in the footsteps of her famous British father who was best known for his silent movies and on-screen character the Little Tramp.
She was one of the actor’s 11 children.
Gardin-Chaplin starred in Pier Paolo Pasolini‘s The Canterbury Tales, along with Limelight and A Countess From Hong Kong, which were both written and directed by her father, who died in December 1977 at the age of 88.
She also acted in French films such as Doctor Francoise Gailland, Chicken In Vinegar and Red Nights.
Her maternal grandfather was the American playwright Eugene O’Neill, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936 and wrote The Iceman Cometh and Long Day’s Journey Into Night.
She lived in Paris and would go on holiday in Waterville in Ireland with Sir Charlie, who had made regular trips to the area since the 1950s.
The Co Kerry village hosted the Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival, with the permission of his family, and Gardin-Chaplin sponsored a statue of the Little Tramp near the area’s seafront.
Gardin-Chaplin is survived by her three sons Charly, Julien and Arthur, and her sisters Geraldine, Victoria, Jane and Annette and brothers Michael, Eugene and Christopher.
