The Strange Paternity Rumor Hallmark's Andie MacDowell Put To Rest
Andie MacDowell, a Hallmark Channel regular, had a few major film roles that brought her notoriety before she made the feel-good-film channel her home. She's best known for "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and starring opposite Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day," even getting a Golden Globe nomination for the former. You also might recognize MacDowell as the mom of Margaret Qualley, her virtual twin and Emmy-nominated co-star in Netflix's "Maid."
For all her claims to fame, there's one in particular that simply doesn't apply: being the illegitimate daughter of silent film master Charlie Chaplin. MacDowell heard the reports about her alleged parentage after a fan sent her an article from a Mexican newspaper, and she was both shocked and amused, especially since the idea is so far-fetched. As a result, the "Cedar Cove" actor sat down with host Stephen Colbert on his nighttime talk show, "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," to put the rumors about her alleged paternity to rest. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was nothing more than tabloid fodder.
Andie MacDowell isn't related to Charlie Chaplin in any way
Talking to Colbert, Andie MacDowell positively denied that Charlie Chaplin was her father. "Really? I am?" she joked to Stephen Colbert, continuing, "No. No. So bizarre!" The former model then detailed how once she met Charlie Chaplin's actual daughter, Geraldine Chaplin. The silent film star had eight children with his wife Oona O'Neil, with Geraldine being the first. She's also an actor best known for her role in the 1965 movie "Doctor Zhivago."
Years after MacDowell received the fake news article, she found Chaplin's eldest child staring at her at an event, making her wonder if Chaplin's legitimate daughter had read the same newspaper. At the time, "The Way Home" actor didn't approach Geraldine to set the record straight. However, during the Colbert interview, MacDowell again clarified, "I am not," making sure that if she was watching, Geraldine knew that she didn't lay any claim to the Chaplin name.
"The Tramp" actor did face a paternity suit back in his day, however. In 1943, one of his lovers, Joan Barry, accused him of fathering her daughter, Carol Ann. Eventually, a blood test proved that claim to be false. Nevertheless, Chaplin had 11 children with three of his four wives and numerous affair partners.
MacDowell had a more rural upbringing
The screen star was raised in Gaffney, South Carolina, a southern town easily identifiable by its water tower shaped like a giant peach. Her mother was Pauline "Paula" Johnston, and her father was Marion St. Pierre MacDowell. Unfortunately, the Hallmark actor had a particularly rough upbringing. She explained to Closer Weekly how, shortly after she was born, her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and became an alcoholic not long after being released from the hospital. A few years later, MacDowell's father left the family, never to return.
Her mother, a former music teacher, worked odd jobs that she was occasionally fired from for being drunk. MacDowell frequently found herself in the middle of arguments taking place between her mom and her older sister and detailed how both girls had to babysit their mom to ensure she wouldn't injure herself or burn down the house with lit cigarettes.
Far from being raised by a celebrity parent like Charlie Chaplin, whose daughter Geraldine Chaplin attended boarding schools in Switzerland and broke into acting at age 8, MacDowell moved herself to New York at age 21 and secured a modeling job. Sadly, her mother passed away two years later, when MacDowell was 23. The "Dashing in December" actor says of her mom and South Carolina upbringing, "I don't have a lot of anger, I have a lot of compassion." As difficult as her childhood was, the "Groundhog Day" actor has done really well for herself and managed to overcome adversity.