Virginia Lee Corbin was a popular child star who battled alcoholism and died young
She was born Laverne Virginia Corbin on December 5, 1911 in Prescott, Arizona. Her ambitious stage mother, Frances Corbin, brought her to Hollywood when she was just a toddler. At the age of four she made her film debut in the silent drama Let Katie Do It. In 1917 she appeared in the fairy tale Jack And The Bean Stalk and was offered a five year contract with Fox. The adorable blonde was given starring roles in The Babes In The Woods, Treasure Island and Ace High. Virginia was called "The Youngest Emotional Star". During the early 1920s she took a break from making movies while she performed in vaudeville. Then director James Cruz cast her in the 1924 romance The City That Never Sleeps. She was chosen to be one of the Wampas Stars of 1925. That same year the thirteen year old suffered a nervous breakdown. As she got older she began playing flappers in films like Bare Knees and The Honeymoon Express. Like many silent stars she had trouble making the transition to sound films. Virginia had a volatile relationship with her mother who she accused of spending all the money she had earned as a child star.
On December 18, 1929 she married Theodore Krol, a stockbroker. Soon after she decided to quit acting and be a full-time housewife. The couple moved to Chicago and had two sons - Harold and Robert. Unfortunately the marriage was unhappy and she started drinking. Theodore divorced her in 1937 claiming she was habitually drunk and violent. She was devastated when he was given custody of both their children. Virginia went to New York City where she briefly worked as a model. Then she married Charles Jacobson, a stockbroker from Chicago. She wanted to make a comeback as an actress but was only able to get bit parts. Her final job was as an extra in the 1940 drama Adventure In Diamonds. In early 1942 she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was sent to a sanitarium in Illinois. Sadly on June 5, 1942 she died at the young age of thirty. Virginia was buried at Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge, Illinois,
