Biography for
Karolyn Grimes More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

Mini Biography

At age 6, Karolyn Grimes played the role of Zuzu Bailey in the holiday film It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Her childhood film career spanned 16 movies, but she is best remembered for playing the daughter of George and Mary Bailey (James Stewart and Donna Reed). The petals from her rose symbolize the values of family, friends and life itself in the 1946 classic, and it is Zuzu who speaks the movie's most memorable line, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings." In recent years, Karolyn has carried on the spirit of It's a Wonderful Life (1946), serving as the film's most active and appealing ambassador.

Trivia

In 1999, she went to Philadelphia to take part in special extravaganza. One-hundred 4th of July babies were present from 1900-1999 and she represented 1940.

Lives in Carnation, Washington.

In an interview on radio station WLIT (Chicago) on 14 December 2005, she mentioned that she will answer e-mail sent to zuzu@zuzu.net.

She still has an angel ornament from the Christmas tree in the movie It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

Her Hollywood career ended with her parents' deaths when she was a teen. She was sent to live with her aunt. She eventually became a medical technician.

One of her most vivid memories of filming "It's a Wonderful Life" was the large Christmas tree in the Bailey house. Grimes' own family had a two-foot-tall tree that stood on a table. She enjoyed the snow on the set, even thought it was artificial, because she had never seen real snow.

According to Grimes, the name "Zuzu" came from a cookie, similar to a gingersnap, that was sold in the early 1900s.

She rang the Closing Bell on Wall Street in 2003.

Interviewed in the book "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland & Co., 2010) by Tom Weaver.

Where Are They Now

(1997) Lives in Stilwell, Kansas and makes many personal, television and radio appearances.

(March 2010) Grimes makes personal appearances and delivers keynote addresses at corporate and private functions across the United States (McLeod, Mike, "Passions With... Karolyn Grimes", Heritage Magazine, Spring 2010)