Virginia Fox Brooks

Virginia Fox Brooks (January 29, 1893 – 1971) was an American actress, playwright, translator, and journalist who performed on Broadway between 1915 and 1918. She was also known by the names Virginia Fox-Brooks Vernon and Virginia Vernon. Her father, Joseph Brooks, was a theatre manager, and her parents were originally from Tennessee and Virginia. Some sources list her birth year as 1894 or 1899.

Brooks received musical training in France under Jacques Isnardon at the Paris Conservatory and, as a young woman, toured Europe alongside singer Yvette Guilbert. She also sang at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Her Broadway appearances included The Adventures of Lady Ursula (1915), Trilby (1915), Ghosts (1915), The Great Lover (1915–1916), Getting Married (1916–1917), Sinbad (1918–1919), and The Passing Show of 1918. She subsequently appeared in London productions of The Great Lover (1920–1921) and The Love Match (1922).

In 1925, Brooks married British theatrical producer Frank Vernon as his second wife. Together they produced English-language versions of French and Russian dramatic works, including Simon Gantillon's Maya (1928), René Berton's After Death (1928), Vladimir Kirshon's Red Rust (1930), Alfred Savoir's Little Catherine (1931), The Poet's Secret (1933), Henry Bordeaux's Shattered (1935), and Sacha Guitry's Villa for Sale (1963). The couple also co-wrote The Diary of a Murderer (1934), based on Tristan Bernard's Aux Abois, and co-edited Modern One-Act Plays from the French (1935). Brooks additionally adapted R.C. Sherriff's Journey's End into French with Lucien Besnard (1930), translated Laurence Housman's Victoria Regina into French with André Maurois (1937), and produced French translations of Noël Coward's Private Lives (1933) and Blithe Spirit, among other works by Coward. Her other books included the novels Beauty Products and Parcel Parade (1939) and a biography, Enchanting Little Lady (1964).

Frank Vernon died in France early in World War II, in 1940. During the war, Brooks served as Chief Welfare Officer with the Entertainment National Service Association (ENSA), organizing entertainment for troops and traveling to India, China, Thailand, Iceland, Tunisia, and Egypt. She landed at Normandy shortly after D-Day. Her wartime service was recognized with an MBE and five campaign medals.

Following the war, Brooks contributed writing on Canadian topics to the Daily Mirror in 1947, judged a regional drama festival in Quebec that year, and became a member of the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques. In 1950 and 1951 she reported on fashion from Paris. Some of her papers are held at the Imperial War Museum Department of Documents, and additional Virginia Fox Papers are housed at the Harry Ransom Center.