Born Margaret Shields in Fort Davis, Texas, Virginia Boardman began her theatrical career in 1906 as Virginia Eames (using her mother’s surname) and went on to appear in 52 films between 1911 and 1936. Although her career started off strong, like many actresses of the silent film era she failed to make a successful transition to talking films, and by the mid-1930s her career was at its end for all practical purposes. She was married to actor True Boardman until his death in 1918, with whom she had one child, True Eames Boardman, who after a brief acting career had a long career as a script writer for radio, film and television. He was also the grandfather of actress Lisa Gerritsen. Virginia Boardman died in Hollywood, California, aged 82, from a heart attack.