Born: 1918
Died: March 25, 1966

Referred to by newspapers as “the Queen of the Mob,” Virginia Hill never actually wielded any authority in the underworld. Rather, she was infamous for her series of gangland husbands and lovers—and for acting as a Mafia go-between and courier.

Poor and shoeless

Virginia Hill was the sixth of ten children. Her family lived in Liscomb, Alabama—an impoverished steel town where her father worked as a livery stableman. Hill’s family was reportedly so poor that, as a child, Virginia never owned or wore a pair of shoes. As an adult, Hill told many stories about her life. She claimed to have been born in the Netherlands and sometimes said that her father was half Native American. She often said she had been married as a teenager. She also claimed that she had become rich by...