Virginia Welles, born Virginia Francine Welter, was a talented American actress who started her career in the late 1940s with ingenue roles at Paramount Pictures, where she was under contract.
Born in Wausau, Wisconsin, to Frank and Phyllis (Wheldon) Welter, Virginia's father was a theatre manager, which likely influenced her interest in the performing arts.
While still in high school, Virginia was discovered by a Hollywood talent scout at her sister Gwen's wedding in California, who asked permission to do a screen test. Her parents agreed, but Virginia decided to complete her high school education and attend Stephens College in Missouri, where she studied under the renowned American stage actress Maude Adams.
After completing her education, Virginia finally headed to Hollywood to pursue her screen test and was given a part in Columbia's Kiss and Tell (1945). She then signed a contract with Paramount Pictures and went on to make a few films throughout the remainder of the 1940s.
However, in 1949, Virginia was dropped by Paramount and began freelancing for a couple of years before retiring from the movies in 1951. She made one final film in 1956 and made a few infrequent television appearances throughout the 1950s before retiring.
In her personal life, Virginia married automotive financier Henry George Stix Kuh in 1949, but they divorced in 1977, five years after their daughter Patsy was seriously injured in an automobile accident.
Virginia spent the next thirty years caring for her daughter until her own death in 2002.
