Christine Maple, born Christine Raphael on November 16, 1912, in Belle-Plaine, Kansas, was a child of divorced parents. Her mother remarried and relocated the family to Los Angeles. Christine's early years were marked by beauty pageant appearances, including being a finalist in the Elks National Convention bathing beauty contest.
Her film debut came in 1930 with the Charley Chase short Fifty Million Husbands, followed by a role as a dancer in the musical Whoopee. Notably, she was hired by Florenz Ziegfeld to star in the Ziegfeld Follies, earning the title "Miss Universe." During the show, she caused a stir by appearing on stage completely nude.
Christine was romantically linked to violinist Enric Madriguera and plastic surgeon Dr. Morton Berson, who corrected her nose. She became known for her provocative attire, including low-cut evening dresses, and for fabricating outlandish stories about her life, even claiming her father was a British duke.
In December 1933, Christine was arrested in Switzerland after causing a commotion on a train. A few months later, she was accused of being "too friendly" with the husband of millionaire Martino De Alzaga Unzue. In April 1935, she got into a fight with a cab driver after refusing to pay her bill. Her mother attributed her behavior to a nervous breakdown and sent her to a sanitarium.
Christine signed a contract with Republic Pictures in 1936 and appeared in the westerns The Big Show and Roarin' Lead. She traveled to Australia in 1938 to star in a stage production of The Women, but had to leave the show due to illness. In 1943, she suffered another nervous breakdown and was hospitalized. After her release, she moved to Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and worked in a department store.
Tragically, Christine took her own life by hanging herself on January 12, 1947, at the age of thirty-four. Her body was cremated, and her ashes were given to her family.
