During her participation in WWII bond drives, she developed a close relationship with John Basilone, US Marine Medal of Honor recipient, who was later killed on Iwo Jima.
Frequent hostess of the Hollywood Canteen during WWII and sold war bonds.
Her father, Ray Grey , was an actor - he was one of the Keystone Kops - and director for Mack Sennett and appeared on the silent screen with Mabel Normand, Dorothy Gish and Ben Turpin, among others. He died while Virginia was still a child.
One of her earliest babysitters was Gloria Swanson.
She had an on again/off again relationship with Clark Gable in the 1940s. After his wife Carole Lombard died and he returned from military service, Clark and Virginia were often seen at restaurants and nightclubs together. Many, including Virginia herself, expected him to marry her. The tabloids were all expecting the wedding announcement. It was a great surprise when he hastily married Lady Sylvia Ashley in 1949. Virginia was heartbroken. They divorced in 1952, but much to Virginia's dismay their brief romance was never rekindled. Her friends say that her hoping and waiting for Clark was the reason she never married.
She was affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Was a lifelong friend of producer Ross Hunter and appeared in almost all of his major films. "Notice I wasn't in Lost Horizon (1973), however," she once said, referring to the notorious 1973 remake of the James Hilton story. A colossal critical and commercial failure, it essentially marked the end of Hunter's career as a major Hollywood player.
Won a screen test after being discovered on the Universal lot at age 9.