Biography
Of Swedish-American heritage, Virginia Christine (born Virginia Kraft) grew up in largely Scandinavian communities in Iowa and Minnesota. As a high schooler, Christine won a National Forensic League award, which led to her first professional engagement on a Chicago radio station. When her family moved to Los Angeles, Christine sought out radio work while attending college. She was trained for a theatrical career by actor/director
Fritz Feld, who later became her husband. In 1942, she signed a contract with Warner Bros., appearing in bits in such films as
Edge of Darkness (1943) and
Mission to Moscow (1944). As a free-lance actress, Christine played the female lead in
The Mummy's Curse (1945), a picture she later described as "ghastly." Maturing into a much-in-demand character actress, Christine appeared in four
Stanley Kramer productions:
The Men (1950),
Not as a Stranger (1955),
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). Other movie assignments ranged from the heights of
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) to the depths of Billy the Kid Meets Dracula (1978). To a generation of Americans who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, Christine will forever be Mrs. Olson, the helpful Swedish neighbor in scores of Folger's Coffee commercials. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide