Born 1920 as Virginia Clara Jones in St. Louis, Missouri, American actress and dancer Virginia Mayo had her first starring role came in 1944 opposite comedian Bob Hope in The Princess and the Pirate (1944). It earned over $3 million at the box office.

Mayo was in a series of comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Brothers' biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s, and also co-starred in the 1946 Oscar-winning movie The Best Years of Our Lives. She continued to act on stage for the rest of her career, mostly in dinner theatre and touring shows.

Mayo was one of the first to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hers is located at 1751 Vine Street. In 1996, she was honored by her hometown as she received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Mayo died of pneumonia and complications of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles in 2005, aged 84.

Take a look at these glamorous photos to see the beauty of young Virginia Mayo in the 1940s and 1950s.






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