From Silent Icon to Avatar 3: How Old Was Charlie Chaplin When He Married Oona Chaplin’s Grandmother?

Oona Chaplin is not hiding from that last name. She is leaning into it. The actor, named after her grandmother Oona O'Neill (who married Charlie Chaplin when he was 56 and she was 18), is front and center in James Cameron's new Avatar: Fire & Ash as the fierce leader of the Mangkwan Clan. And while promoting it, she made a comparison that raised my eyebrows in the best way.

Oona Chaplin on James Cameron: the closest thing to Charlie

In a chat with THR, Chaplin said working with Cameron felt oddly familiar. Not because of the blue people or the water tanks, but because Cameron himself reminded her of her grandfather. Yes, she means the director of The Abyss is, in her view, cut from the same cloth as the icon of the silent era.

'Jim Cameron is the most similar person that I can think of to Charlie Chaplin, even though they have very different flavors. I feel like he has got something of him in him. They are birds of a feather.'

She made it clear she is not saying they make the same kind of movies. One is the face of the silent era, the other builds giant spectacle machines. But in terms of drive, invention, and the way they fuse craft and storytelling, she sees a real kinship. For her, being on set and watching Cameron blend narrative, VFX, and pure artistry was a gift.

Quick context on the Chaplin family tree

Oona is Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter through Oona O'Neill, and she was named for her. Charlie and Oona stayed together until his death at 88. That relationship tends to reopen the larger, complicated conversation about Chaplin's marriages and age gaps, so here is the fast breakdown, no euphemisms:

• First marriage: Mildred Harris. She was 16, he was 26. They married in 1918 and split in 1920.
• Second marriage: Lita Grey. She was 16, he was 35. This one was publicly messy, with allegations of sexual misconduct and emotional cruelty, and it seriously dinged his reputation (documented in the Charlie Chaplin Archive).
• Third marriage: Paulette Goddard. He was 47, she was 26. Generally considered the most stable, and they worked together on Modern Times and The Great Dictator.
• Fourth marriage: Oona O'Neill. She was 18, he was 56. The age gap drew criticism then and now, but they remained together until his death.

All of which makes Oona Chaplin's comparison feel both bold and oddly fitting: she is staking out her own place in the industry while drawing a straight line between two relentless originals.

Avatar: Fire & Ash is in theaters now, with the Avatar 3 star leading the Mangkwan Clan into the fight.