Karolyn Grimes

Karolyn Grimes Biography

Karolyn Grimes (born July 4, 1940) is an American actress known for her role as "Zuzu Bailey" in the Frank Capra classic It's a Wonderful Life. She also played "Debbie" in the 1947 Christmas film, The Bishop's Wife starring Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young.

Grimes was born in Hollywood, California. Her mother pushed her into acting, but her acting career declined with her mother's health. The latter died from illness when Grimes was 14, and she lost her father from a car crash a year later. A court ruling sent her from Hollywood to Osceola, Missouri, where she lived in what she called a "bad home" with her aunt and uncle. She went to college in Warrensburg, Missouri at the University of Central Missouri, married, raised kids, and became a medical technologist.

Zuzu had been a part of Grimes' past but as It's a Wonderful Life gained more attention, she gave local interviews in the 1980s and national interviews in the 1990s. Her first husband's death in a hunting accident, 18-year-old son's suicide in 1989, and second husband's death from cancer in 1994 made it difficult for Grimes to recover financially. After she suffered a serious financial setback during the early 2000s recession, she made a career of her advocacy for the film.

She tours big-screen showings of It's a Wonderful Life at dinner theatres worldwide, signing autographs, sharing tidbits, and pointing out small 'goofs'. She also produced a cookbook inspired by that role and marketed a limited line of "Zuzu Dolls".

Grimes was honored as a famous Missourian with a star on the Missouri Walk of Fame in Marshfield, Missouri. She also received the city's highest honor, The Edwin P. Hubble Medal of Initiative in 2007 at the annual Marshfield cherry blossom festival.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1945	That Night With You	Orphan	Uncredited
1945	Pardon My Past	Stephanie Pemberton
1946	Sister Kenny	Carolyn	Scenes deleted
1946	Blue Skies	Mary Elizabeth Adams
1946	It's a Wonderful Life	Zuzu Bailey
1942	The Courtship of Andy Hardy	Melodie Eunice Nesbit
1947	Sweet and Low	Tammie	Short film
1947	Vance's Gamble	Pat Roberts	Uncredited
1947	The Private Affairs of Bel Ami	Laurine de Marelle
1947	Mother Wore Tights	Iris	Uncredited
1947	Unconquered	Little Girl	Uncredited
1947	The Bishop's Wife	Debby Brougham
1948	Albuquerque City	Myrtle Walton	Also known as Silver City
1949	Lust for Gold	Martha Bannister	Also known as For Those Who Dare
1950	Rio Grande	Margret Mary
1951	Honeychile	Effie
1952	Hans Christian Andersen	Copenhagen Match Girl	Uncredited

Karolyn Grimes

Karolyn Grimes Biography

Filmography

See also