British Actresses You Should Know: Oona Chaplin

While we rate all the talented subjects of our Actors/Actresses You Should Know profiles as worthy of your notice, most don’t have the same showbiz pedigree as that of Oona Chaplin. Her grandfather was legendary silent film actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin. Her great-grandfather was the celebrated American playwright, Eugene O’Neill. Oona was named after her grandmother, Oona (O’Neill) Chaplin.

Ms. Chaplin was born in Madrid. With her parents’ (actress Geraldine Chaplin and Chilean cinematographer, Patricio Castilla) busy careers, she spent much of her youth on sets and visiting family in Spain, Switzerland, Cuba, Chile, and the UK. Due to her globe-trotting childhood, Oona can speak fluent Spanish, French, and English.

At 15, she earned a drama scholarship at an independent boarding school in Scotland. Afterwards, Chaplin was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) program in London and completed her course in 2007.