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IMDbPro

Karolyn Grimes

  • Actress
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Karolyn Grimes
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.
BornJuly 4, 1940
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BornJuly 4, 1940
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Photos9

James Stewart, Donna Reed, Carol Coombs, Karolyn Grimes, Jimmy Hawkins, and Larry Simms in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Carol Coombs, Karolyn Grimes, and Jimmy Hawkins in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
James Stewart and Karolyn Grimes in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Carol Coombs, Karolyn Grimes, Jimmy Hawkins, and Larry Simms in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Bing Crosby and Karolyn Grimes in Blue Skies (1946)
Karolyn Grimes, Sister Kenny, and Rosalind Russell in Sister Kenny (1946)
James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Ward Bond, Frank Capra, Donna Reed, Stanley Andrews, Frank Albertson, Ernie Adams, Beulah Bondi, Lane Chandler, Tom Chatterton, Jack Cheatham, Harry Cheshire, Dick Elliott, Tom Fadden, Karolyn Grimes, Frank Hagney, Charles Halton, Samuel S. Hinds, Harry Holman, Todd Karns, Edward Keane, Thomas Mitchell, Virginia Patton, Henry Travers, Mary Treen, Ray Walker, Charles C. Wilson, and Frank Fenton in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
James Stewart and Karolyn Grimes at an event for It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Known for:

James Stewart and Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
It's a Wonderful Life
8.6
  • The Bailey Child - Zuzu
  • 1946
Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young in The Bishop's Wife (1947)
The Bishop's Wife
7.6
  • Debby Brougham
  • 1947
It's a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story
  • Zuzu Bailey
    Harry Davenport, Marguerite Chapman, Rita Johnson, Fred MacMurray, and Akim Tamiroff in Pardon My Past (1945)
    Pardon My Past
    6.7
    • Stephanie Pemberton
    • 1945

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress

    • It's a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story
      • Zuzu Bailey
      • In Development
    • Rebecca Holden and Richard Rossi in Canaan Land (2020)
      Canaan Land
      • Talk Show Guest
      • 2020
    • Robert Miano, Katie Rose, and Hayden James in Cassandra's Castle (2016)
      Cassandra's Castle
      • Sister Bernadice
      • TV Series
      • 2016
    • The Ford Television Theatre (1952)
      The Ford Television Theatre
      • TV Series
      • 1954
    • Fireside Theatre (1949)
      Fireside Theatre
      • TV Series
      • 1953
    • Hans Christian Andersen (1952)
      Hans Christian Andersen
      • Copenhagen Match Girl (uncredited)
      • 1952
    • Alan Hale Jr., Judy Canova, and Eddie Foy Jr. in Honeychile (1951)
      Honeychile
      • Effie
      • 1951
    • Harry Carey Jr., Ben Johnson, Victor McLaglen, J. Carrol Naish, and Chill Wills in Rio Grande (1950)
      Rio Grande
      • Margaret Mary
      • 1950
    • Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino in Lust for Gold (1949)
      Lust for Gold
      • Young Martha (uncredited)
      • 1949
    • Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, and George 'Gabby' Hayes in Albuquerque (1948)
      Albuquerque
      • Myrtle Walton
      • 1948
    • Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young in The Bishop's Wife (1947)
      The Bishop's Wife
      • Debby Brougham
      • 1947
    • Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard in Unconquered (1947)
      Unconquered
      • Little Girl (uncredited)
      • 1947
    • Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Mona Freeman, and Connie Marshall in Mother Wore Tights (1947)
      Mother Wore Tights
      • Iris - Age 6 (uncredited)
      • 1947
    • Angela Lansbury in The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947)
      The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
      • Laurine de Marelle
      • 1947
    • Vivian Austin, Alan Curtis, and Toni Todd in Philo Vance's Gamble (1947)
      Philo Vance's Gamble
      • Pat Roberts
      • 1947
    • Sweet and Low
      • Tammie
      • Short
      • 1947

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official site
      • The Zuzu News Web Site
    • Height
      • 5′ 5¾″ (1.67 m)
    • Born
      • July 4, 1940
      • Hollywood, California, USA
    • Spouses
        Michael T WilkersonJuly 22, 1969 - 1993 (his death, 2 children)
    • Parents
      • La Van Grimes
    • Other works
      TV commercial for Kellogg's Sugar Smacks cereal. Script is dated July 10, 1952. Commercial was filmed July 24-25, 1952. Stars: George Reeves (TV's "Superman") and children Jimmy Bates and 12-year-old Karolyn Grimes. Unknown when it aired.
    • Publicity listings
      • 2 Interviews
      • 3 Articles
      • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

    Did you know

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

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