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Virginia Slims Chance (née Thompson) is the daughter of Louise Thompson, granddaughter of Barbara June and Wilfred Thompson, mother of Jimmy Chance and wife of Burt Chance and one of the main characters in Raising Hope. She is portrayed by Martha Plimpton.

Character Biography[]

Early Life[]

Virginia Thompson was born on June 4, 1971 to Louise Thompson, who was 20 years old and felt she wasn't the mothering type, so she decided to put Virginia up for adoption. Barbara June wanted Louise to keep the baby, and Louise told her to keep her herself but make up a story about what happened to her so Virginia wouldn't come looking for her, so Barbara June told Virginia that her mother passed away after hitting her head on a lawn duck.

When Virginia was fifteen she began dating Burt Chance, who was seventeen. When she was fifteen she conceived her son Jimmy in a parked car at the catholic church and gave birth on prom night, making her a mother at sixteen.

Virginia had to work a lot to let her son have the childhood she wanted for him and often left him at home sitting and staring at a picture of a deer or spending time with his Great Maw Maw (Barbara June) which he did not like.

When Virginia was thirty-nine she became a grandmother when Jimmy's daughter, Hope, was born. Virginia gave up smoking when Hope moved in with them and instead gave the money to Jimmy to pay for Hope's daycare.

Virginia has a rocky relationship with her cousin Delilah because Delilah would always try to one-up her when they were growing up, which wasn't difficult because she always had nicer clothes and belongings than Virginia.

As a result of this, Virginia told Burt (who was Delilah's boyfriend at the time) that Delilah told her to tell him that she was "on her period, had diarrhea and had decided to become a lesbian", stealing him away from Delilah.

She also had to wear a back brace in her teen years due to scoliosis. However, Burt cured this.

Personality[]

Virginia seems to be the most educated and intelligent one out of the Chances. She is sarcastic, enjoys making fun of people (including her son) but is a kind and caring person. One example of this is the fact that she still takes care of Maw Maw, her grandmother, even though Maw Maw bites, forgets who she is, and once chased Virginia, Burt, Jimmy and Sabrina around the house with a gun because she thought that they were Mongeese.

Virginia is addicted to adding new additions to her Porkchester pig figurine collection.

Relationships[]

  • Barbara June Thompson, better known as Maw Maw, is Virginia's grandmother and raised her after her mother left and let Virginia and Burt live in her house while they raised Jimmy.
  • Wilfred Thompson is Virginia's now-deceased grandfather, who raised her along with Maw Maw.
  • Louise Thompson is Virginia's mother who had her when she was twenty. Louise left when Virginia was very young because she decided she wasn't the mothering type, and Maw Maw told Virginia that her mother had died after hitting her head on a lawn duck.
  • Delilah Thompson is Virginia's wealthy cousin. The two have hated each other since childhood, leading to Virginia eventually stealing Burt away from Delilah.
  • Burt Chance is Virginia's husband. She stole him from her cousin Delilah when the two were teenagers, and in "What Up, Cuz?" it is revealed that Delilah is still in love with him, though the feelings aren't mutual.
  • Jimmy Chance is Virginia's son, whom she gave birth to when she was sixteen.
  • Shelley Collins is Sabrina's cousin, making she and Virginia related by law. Shelley owns a daycare for babies, dogs and old people that Hope attended for a while.

Trivia[]

  • She is revealed to have had a pet gerbil named Martha, a nod to the name of the actress portraying Virginia, Martha Plimpton.
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