The Chaplin Legacy

Background:

A granddaughter of iconic actor/comedian Charlie Chaplin and a great-granddaughter of Nobel-prize winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, Kiera Chaplin has worked as a professional model from the age of 16 and has modeled for Maxim, Elle, Cosmo-Girl, Lucky, and GQ Magazine. The 5' 8" stunner with 33 1/2 - 23 1/2 - 35 1/2 measurements whose ethnic background includes English, Irish, and Roma (Gypsy) also has appeared in the 2002 Pirelli calendar.

Chaplin has branched out in acting and could be seen in the films like the French film "Absolument fabuleux" (2001; aka "bsolutely Fabulous"), the 1970 coming-of-age drama "The Year That Trembled" (2002), the film version of Oscar Wilde's comedic play "The Importance of Being Earnest" (2002), the Bollywood movie "Yatna" (2005), and the biopic "Aimee Semple McPherson" (2006). She will appear in the upcoming film "Japan" alongside Shane Brolly.

Chaplin presented an award named after her grandfather (The Charlie Chaplin International award for Comedy) to Benny Hill at the 11th Vevey Comedy Festival in Switzerland in August 1991. She is now Chairman of Limelight Films, Inc., a production company named for her favorite of her grandfather's films. She was recently the recipient of the International Short Film Festival Award on behalf of Charlie Chaplin.

Chaplin, one of FHM magazine's ''The Top 20 Most Eligible Women in The World,'' now lives with her fiance, French financier and photographer Ale de Basseville, in Los Angeles.

Kiki, Sunny, Chapps

Childhood and Family:

"I remember being a young girl in school and looking in the dictionary and seeing the names 'Charlie Chaplin' and 'Eugene O'Neill' and starting to realize little by little that, my god, they were both immensely important to the whole world, not just our family." Kiera Chaplin.

On July 1, 1982, Kiera Sunshine Chaplin was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. She is the daughter of Eugene Chaplin, who was the fifth child of iconic actor/comedian Charlie Chaplin (born on April 16, 1889; died on December 25, 1977) and his last wife, actress Oona O'Neill (born on May 13, 1926; died on September 27, 1991 because of pancreatic cancer). Her great-grandfather is Nobel-prize winning playwright Eugene O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953).

Kiera's uncles are actors Christopher Chaplin (born on July 6, 1962) and Michael Chaplin (born on March 7, 1946), and her aunts are actresses Annette-Emilie, Jane Chaplin (born on May 23, 1957), Victoria Chaplin (born on May 19, 1951), Josephine Chaplin (born on March 28, 1949), and Geraldine Chaplin (born on July 31, 1944). Her cousins are actresses Carmen Chaplin and Dolores Chaplin.

Kiera, nicknamed Kiki/Sunny/Chapps, was raised in Switzerland. At age 16, following her parents' divorce, she moved to Paris.

"I grew up in the same town in Switzerland where my grandfather lived from the time he fled the U.S. in the 1950s until the end of his life, so there was a Charlie Chaplin statue and a Charlie Chaplin park, and a bar named after him. I remember thinking, OK, I know he was a famous actor, but is that our park because our names are on it? Is that our bar?" Kiera Chaplin.

At age 16, Kiera met her fiancé, French financier and photographer Ale de Basseville, who is 12 years her senior. They now live together in Los Angeles.

Limelight

Career:

"Modeling was great because I wanted to leave Switzerland, get away from home and be on my own, which I guess we all do when we're that age, right?" Kiera Chaplin.

Following her parents' divorce, 16-year-old Kiera Chaplin moved to Paris, where a photographer friend of the family encouraged her to sign with a modeling agency. The 5' 8" Irish-born stunner who sports at 33 1/2 - 23 1/2 - 35 1/2 (some sources mention 35-25-35) measurements subsequently graced the pages of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. A model model for Maxim, Elle, Cosmo-Girl, Lucky, and GQ Magazine, she also has worked with well-known photographers from all over the world, including the late Herb Ritts. She was voted one of the "Top 20 Most Eligible Women in The World" by FHM magazine in the U.S. and appeared in the 2002 Pirelli calendar.

Chaplin's celebrity status has brought a lot of unique opportunities to her career, including a film career. She has appeared in the French comedy film "Absolument fabuleux" (2001; starring Josiane Balasko and Nathalie Baye), writer/director Gabriel Aghion's adaptation of the British television comedy series ''Absolutely Fabulous,'' and Jay Craven's 1970 coming-of-age drama "The Year That Trembled" (2002; starring Jonathan Brandis, Charlie Finn and Jay R. Ferguson), which was based on the novel by Scott Lax. She also could be seen as girl in gambling club in "The Importance of Being Earnest" (2002; starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon and Judi Dench), Oliver Parker's film version of Oscar Wilde's comedic play of the same name.

Meanwhile, Chaplin presented an award named after her grandfather (The Charlie Chaplin International award for Comedy) to Benny Hill at the 11th Vevey Comedy Festival in Switzerland in August 1991. In 2002, she pledged her active involvement in the DVD Collectors’ Edition of A TRIBUTE to Charlie Chaplin when she narrated the DVD. She is now Chairman of Limelight Films, Inc., a production company named for her favorite of her grandfather's films. She was recently the recipient of the International Short Film Festival Award on behalf of Charlie Chaplin.

In 2003, Chaplin co-produced Dusan Kovacevic's film adaptation of his own dark comedy play, the Serbo-Croatian "Profesionalac," starring Yugoslavian actors Bora Todorovic and Branislav Lecic. In the following year, she served as executive-producer of the adventure TV movie "Skavengers" (2004). She also appeared in the Northern Ireland television interview show "Kelly" and on one of the world's longest-running chat shows, "The Late Late Show," originally aired on Irish broadcasting company RTE.

Chaplin has recently returned to work in front of the camera. She starred in a Bollywood film directed by Rajshree Ojha titled ''Yatna'' (2005) and supported Mimi Michaels in writer/director Richard Rossi's feature film about the life of the famed evangelist of the 1920s, "Aimee Semple McPherson" (2006). She also has completed her upcoming film with writer/director Fabien Pruvot, an action/crime/drama titled "Japan," starring Shane Brolly in the title role.

Awards:
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