{{short description|American actress}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Virginia True Boardman | image = Mrs True Boardman.jpg | caption = Boardman in ''Motion Picture Story Magazine'' (August 1913) | birth_name = Margaret Shields | birth_date = {{Birth date|1889|5|23}} | birth_place = Fort Davis, Texas, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|6|10|1889|5|23}} | death_place = Hollywood, California, U.S. | occupation = Actress | yearsactive = 1911–1936 | other_names = Virginia Eames | spouse = {{marriage|True Boardman|1909|1918|end=died}} | children = True Boardman Jr. | relatives = Lisa Gerritsen (great-granddaughter) }}
'''Virginia True Boardman''' (born '''Margaret Shields''',<ref>Oregon Marriage Records (as Margaret Sheelds)</ref><ref>1910-1920 US Census Records</ref><ref>Washington State Birth Records (True Boardman Jr.)</ref><ref>California Death Index (Margaret S. Boardman - June 10, 1971)</ref> May 23, 1889 – June 10, 1971) was an American actress of the silent era.
==Biography== Born in Fort Davis, Texas as Margaret Shields,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Katchmer |first1=George A. |title=A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses |date=May 20, 2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0905-8 |page=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VnGeCQAAQBAJ&q=%22Virginia+Eames%22+actress&pg=PA31 |access-date=August 15, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Boardman acted with the Streeter-Bryan company in 1908.<ref>{{cite news |title=Miss Eames Leaves for California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57360423/virginia-eames/ |access-date=August 15, 2020 |work=The Evening Statesman |date=March 27, 1908 |location=Washington, Walla Walla |page=2|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
She 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.{{Citation needed |date=June 2023}}
On January 16, 1909, she married actor True Boardman,<ref name="w">{{cite news |title=Actors wed on Saturday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57362211/the-world/ |access-date=August 15, 2020 |work=The World |date=January 18, 1909 |location=Oregon, Coos Bay |page=1|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> and they remained wed until his death in 1918. The couple performed together in stock theater companies and in vaudeville.<ref name="w" /> They 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.<ref>''Post-Standard'', (Syracuse, New York) August 5, 2003 | Page 74</ref>
She died in Hollywood, California, aged 82, from a heart attack.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ellenberger |first1=Allan R. |title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory |date=May 2001 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5019-0 |page=37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZraJCgAAQBAJ&q=%22Virginia+Eames%22+actress&pg=PA37 |access-date=August 15, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
==Partial filmography== thumb|upright=1.2|Lobby card featuring Boardman as the mother in ''Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight?'' (1922)
[[File:Ablindbargain-lobbycard-1922.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Boardman and Raymond McKee in ''A Blind Bargain'' (1922)]] {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''The Tomboy on Bar Z'' (1912) * ''The Light of Western Stars'' (1918) * ''The Railroader'' (1919) * ''The Village Blacksmith'' (1922) * ''A Blind Bargain'' (1922) * ''The Third Alarm'' (1922) * ''Three Jumps Ahead'' (1923) * ''Pioneer Trails'' (1923) * ''The Barefoot Boy'' (1923) * ''The Gunfighter'' (1923) * ''The Mailman'' (1923) * ''The Tomboy'' (1924) * ''The Test of Donald Norton'' (1926) * ''King of the Jungle'' (1927) * ''Down the Stretch'' (1927) * ''Speedy Smith'' (1927) * ''The Lady Lies'' (1929) * ''Scareheads'' (1931) * ''The Penal Code'' (1932) * ''Sister to Judas'' (1932) * ''The Big Chance'' (1933) * ''Pardon My Pups'' (1934) * ''The Road to Ruin'' (1934) * ''The Crime Patrol'' (1936) * ''Brand of the Outlaws'' (1936) * ''The Fugitive Sheriff'' (1936) {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} *{{IMDb name|0090207}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boardman, Virginia True}} Category:1889 births Category:1971 deaths Category:Actresses from Texas Category:American silent film actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:American vaudeville performers Category:American stage actresses Category:People from Jeff Davis County, Texas