Geraldine Acthley was born in 1950 to Patricia Dory Ocura of Bacolod, a ticket taker at the Mayfair Theater in Avenida, Manila, and to Bouffard Acthley, a German-American who didn't stay long after Geraldine's birth. Geraldine grew up in the rough neighborhood of Gagalangin, Tondo, accompanying her mother to work. Already the love for acting was very strong in the young girl. A fire burned down their house and at age eleven, Geraldine had to help her mother make ends meet. She actually drove a tricycle has felt very much fulfilled and renewed.
