V.C. Andrews Wiki
Register
Advertisement
1
Corrine Foxworth
Biographical Information
Birth Name: Corrine Foxworth
Born: December 10, 1924
Home: Foxworth Hall
Status: Deceased (dies in a fire)
Occupation: Housewife / Socialite / Widow
Physical Description
Gender: Female
Height: 5'8" (152 cm) (movies)
Eye Color: Cerulean Blue
Hair Color: Blonde
Family Information
Marital Status: Widow
Relatives: * Garland Foxworth (grandfather) ♰
Appearances
Portrayed By: Victoria Tennant, Heather Graham
Appearances: Garden of Shadows, Flowers in the Attic, Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns


Corrine (nee Foxworth) Dollanganger Winslow Jackson, is the daughter of Alicia and Malcolm Foxworth, Sr..

IMG 20150409 104005

Heather Graham as Corrine 2014

She is the wife of Chris Sr. and mother of Chris Jr., Cathy, and twins Cory and Carrie. She is also the second wife of Bart Winslow and third wife of John Amos Jackson.

It is also revealed in Flowers in the Attic that she is the half-niece of her first husband; but in Garden of Shadows, it is revealed that she is (although completely unaware) also his younger maternal half-sister, therefore naming her the stepdaughter of Olivia Foxworth and the paternal half sister of Malcolm Jr. and Joel.

Her name comes from her absent paternal grandmother, as mentioned in Garden of Shadows by Malcolm.

Flowers in the Attic[]

IMG 20150412 214409

Victoria Tennant as Corrine 1987

In the late 1950's, the Dollanganger family lives a happy and nearly perfect suburban life in Gladstone, Pennsylvania. Corrine, a housewife and mother raises her four children with love and pride.

On Christopher's 36th birthday, she loses her husband who is the sole breadwinner in a fatal car crash and as a last resort, she returns to her parents who are elderly and strictly religious millionaires residing in a grand estate named Foxworth Hall.

However, Corrine's parents had previously disowned her as the four children are inbred, so in the following months she conspires with her old mother named Olivia, to keep her adolescent children hidden away in the mansion's spacious attic so no one would learn about the family's dirty little secret. The attic is filled with two hundred years worth of family heirlooms and countless antiques. Corrine locks her children away in isolation with the attic as their playground, while their grandmother verbally and physically abuses them, all while Corrine tries to persuade her bedridden father named Malcolm, to love and accept her again and add her back into his will. Thus, securing her financial future as she will inherit her father's fortune. Corrine promises her children that the situation is only for a short while, and that they will be freed from the attic, once their grandfather passes away as it is implied he is dying from a terminal illness, and should not be alive much longer.

At first, she does the best she can to help her children adjust to their new surroundings, including attending secretarial school to gain skills necessary for a job to be able to support her children and giving them endless gifts, but her going to school isn't mentioned after her children's first year of living in the attic, and it is implied she entirely lied about it.

During this time Corrine seems to become increasingly indifferent to the suffering of her children and her visits become less frequent. Eventually, she stops visiting them altogether. While Corrine goes to many parties and social events and is reintroduced into the glittering world of "high society", she leaves her children entirely with her awful mother, who hates them. Olivia treats them horribly to make them feel worthless and brainwashes them into thinking they are an abomination and the spawns of Satan. At one point, she starves them for over a week, causing Chris to make the children drink his blood seeing as the only way to survive. Then the grandmother suddenly returns bringing them a small meal with powdered donuts on the side for "dessert".

Afterwards, Corrine's true colors finally come forth as she becomes more and more greedy and it is revealed that Malcolm added in his will that if Corrine had children by her either of her two marriages, she would lose the inheritance and everything she acquired with it. In an act of conceited desperation and fear, she gives the children arsenic poisoning bit by bit in the powdered donuts in order to kill them for she can start a new life, (though she claims she wanted to make them a little sick in order to get them out and later report to the Grandmother of their "deaths"). Later, when her youngest child Cory mysteriously dies of the poisoning, it is implied that she placed his body in a hidden part of Foxworth Hall's attic inside a treasure trunk, and passes his death off as a case of fatal pneumonia. Because the attic is so large and filled with several strange odors, no one smelled the decomposing body.

Shortly after these events, Corrine and her new younger husband, Bart Winslow leave the estate, fleeing to elope after their honeymoon to begin a "new life" without telling the children. In fact, Bart doesn't even know the children exist as Corrine has kept them a secret to him as well. Not much later, the children learn of their mother's absence, and that their grandfather, Malcolm had already been long dead, dying over half a year ago. They also discover that is was their own mother who had poisoned them and not their grandmother and that Corrine didn't inform the children about Malcolm's death as she promised, because she secretly wanted her children out of the picture or even dead as well. The children immediately escape together, after three years of being prisoners of the Foxworth attic. Corrine's daughter Cathy vows to seek revenge upon their mother one day.

Petals on the wind[]

It is revealed years later, when her children finally escape Foxworth, she doesn't attend the custody trial for the three remaining siblings and they are in Paul's custody. She travels frequently alongside her husband and Cathy sends many letters of blackmail during these times. It is later revealed that she attended every one of Cathy's ballet performances.

Later in the book, it is revealed that she is indirectly responsible for Carrie's suicide when she unexpectedly saw her one day face to face. Instead of being happy to see her daughter, Corrine, fearing Carrie would blow her cover, was cruel and rejected Carrie to keep her false reputation clean. This pushes Carrie to finally break and she eats doughnuts heavily laced with arsenic to kill herself, which she is successful. Corrine secretly attends the funeral and cries when the obituary page was ripped away from her hands.

Corrine revealed

Cathy reveals Corrine's crimes before horrified guests.

Throughout the book, it is said that she frequently looks at a photo album with pictures of her deceased first husband and children before the death of her first husband. Later that year, at a Christmas Party, Cathy ambushes Corrine and forces her to reveal that she locked away her children and poisoned them. After being pressed by Cathy, she confesses, but adding in her side of the story: that her father had known that the children were locked away and forced her to poison them. She claims she'd been abused, but Bart retaliates, saying that she was never thrown a hard glance by Malcolm.

Vlcsnap-2015-04-16-20h46m21s143

An insane Corrine in the mental institution

Realizing the grief and damage she has caused on her family, Corrine has a serious mental breakdown and goes nearly insane. She sets Foxworth Hall ablaze where Bart and Olivia become trapped in the house and die in the fire. Later Corrine is taken away by the authorities and committed at a mental institute, though Cathy believes her alleged insanity is merely an act to avoid receiving a death sentence for Corey's murder. She forfeited the inheritance and Malcolm's will stated that the money has reverted to the now deceased Olivia, who stated in her own will that Corrine was to receive everything - including the money and the ruins of Foxworth Hall.

If There Be Thorns[]

In "If There be Thorns," it is revealed that after several years of being legitimately crazy, Corrine slowly recovered and she eventually got released from the mental institution. Surprisingly, she becomes extremely remorseful for her crimes against her family and most of all, her children. She tracks down Chris and Cathy and secretly moves next door to them in a small suburb of California, hoping to win back the trust and affection of her two adult children. Here Corrine is described as wearing a transparent black veil and black clothes, and she sits in a hard, uncomfortable rocking chair in order to punish herself for her actions towards her family.

She constantly spies and watches Cathy, Chris and Jory in secret. She befriends her grandson, Bart and invites him over for cookies and ice cream and encourages him to call her "Grandmother." Jory also visits Corrine's house, where Corrine finally tells him that she really is his blood grandmother, but Jory doesn't believe her, thinking she's senile and insane. Jory decides to avoid her at all costs, but he is aware that Bart visits her on a regular basis.

Corrine in If There Be Thorns

An elderly Corrine lives in incognito.

Corrine promises Bart a pony (as he stated that that was his heart's desire). She initially tells Bart to keep their relationship a close secret (especially from Cathy) but she eventually is found out by Chris first, then Cathy. When her grandson Bart visits, Corrine's husband John Amos begins to tell him stories about the sinful nature of women. Bart begins to act out against his family, especially Cathy.

Cathy discovers who the woman next door is, confronts and utterly disgusted with her mother's return, attacks her. When Cathy turns to leave, she is knocked out by John Amos and both women are locked in the cellar. Corrine comforts a badly injured Cathy and makes John promise to get her to a hospital. When she witnesses Cathy hallucinate that she was twelve years old and back in the attic, she forces Bart to go get Chris to save them.

Elderly corrine

An elderly Corrine shows remorse for her past actions...

Cathy stops hallucinating but rejects Corrine. Cathy hits Corrine, knocking over some candles lit earlier, setting the house on fire. Corrine makes Bart go get Christopher for help. Bart realizes he loves Cathy and Corrine, and unlocks the cellar door. Corrine orders Bart to go out.

In a selfless act, Corrine goes back into the burning house to rescue Cathy and knocks John Amos unconscious when she sees him trying to kill Cathy. But as she gets outside, her dress goes up in flames and she chokes on the smoke. Despite trying to help her, Corrine's heart gives out and she dies. Her lifeless body is cradled by Chris who says "she died saving her daughter." They watch as the mansion burns to the ground, taking John Amos and Malcolm's diary with it.  

Later (after being convinced by Bart) Cathy, Chris, Bart and Jory bury Corrine besides her second husband and Bart's biological father where Cathy and Chris finally forgive her at her funeral. In her will, Corrine leaves her entire estate - the ruins of Foxworth Hall, the family fortune and all her belongings to her three grandchildren which were held in trust by Chris and Cathy until their 25th birthdays, meaning that even if John Amos had survived, he wouldn't have gotten anything, meaning his plan would have been for nothing.

Flowers in the Attic: The Origin []

Corrine's father Malcolm tried to rape his step mother Alicia Foxworth. His father Garland Foxworth tried to defend his wife and during a fight between him and his son Garland died. When Alicia became a widow and there was nobody there to protect her Malcolm raped her multiple times. At one point Alicia told Olivia Winfield what her husband has been doing to her and that it resulted in a pregnancy. Olivia knew that her husband is a monster, but she was horrified because she didn't know that he is that bad. She came up with a plan to save the Foxworth name for the sake of her two sons and also her own. Alicia was supposed to give birth to her daughter in secret and later leave with her son Christopher Foxworth. Olivia decided to raise the baby as her own and at first Alicia agreed to the plan, but tried to escape. Malcom and Olivia were able to stop her and once Alicia gave birth she left the baby girl to them and left with her son. Corrine grew up believing that Olivia is her real mother. She got her name after her father's beloved mother. He secretly lusted after Corrine just like he lusted after his own mother in the past. Malcolm didn't want Corrine to ever grow up and treated her like a child giving her a doll for her 16th birthday. Malcolm didn't allow Corrine to see boys or go to dance parties which caused the young girl to be depressed. Olivia saw it and encouraged Corrine to go on a party behind Malcolm's back which backfired because soon Corrine became pregnant. Olivia convinced Corrine that abortion is the best solution to the problem and took her for a procedure. Malcolm found out and was angry with both Olivia and Corrine. He vowed that Corrine won't go out anywhere anymore. The girl didn't take it very well an after a short time she tried to poison her father. Malcom survived and when the doctor told him that he was in fact poisoned Malcom thought it was his oldest son Malcom Foxworth Jr. doing and he never expected his beloved daughter. Malcolm wanted revenge so he went to talk with his sons fiance and made it clear to her that she will have to be intimate with him in exchange for his son getting the Foxworth money. They share a kiss and Malcom Junior saw it. He decided that he can't marry his fiance anymore. He saw poison from the garden that Corrine collected before and mistaken it for something he could smoke. He went to see Corrine and told her that he can't marry his fiance because he walked in on her and their father. During their conversation Corrine spotted that he is smoking the poison she prepared for her father in the past. She was shocked and wanted to stop him, but it was too late. Malcom started coughing, lost consciousness and died. After losing her older brother Corrine was absolutely crushed and in anger she destroyed her collection of dolls that she received from her father over the years. Her father still didn't know that she was the one that brought poison to the house and for some reason his sons death on his grieving mother. Olivia was so depressed she didn't even fight her husband back and accepted that she is guilty even if she didn't do anything wrong. Soon after Malcom's death Corrine's biological mother came back to Foxworth Hall and informed Malcom and Olivia that she came back because she has cancer. She informed them that once she'll die her son Christopher won't have anywhere else to go and said that they will be the only family he'll have. Alicia reminded them that she gave them her daughter and now she is asking them to take her son. Malcolm agreed, but said that his brother will have to work for his education. After Alicia's death Christopher arrived in town and Corrine fell in love with him the minute she saw him. Everyone except Malcolm's welcomes Christopher with open arms. Corrine's father told his younger brother that he will have to work in the yard like a common worker to pay for things. Corrine tried to convince her father to not let Christopher work with servants in the garden, but he didn't change his mind. Corrine's father saddened her again when he sent her brother Joel Foxworth off to cure his homosexuality. Corrine told Christopher where Joel was sent and he was horrified as this facility was using barbaric methods to "cure" their patients. Corinne begged Olivia to help Joel. Olivia wasn't able to stand up to her husband for years after losing Malcom, but she decided to see Joel at the facility behind her husbands back and when she witnessed the state her son was in her old strength came back to her. Olivia took Joel away from the facility despite Malcom's wishes and took him to her servants home to keep him away from his father. Corrine was horrified when she saw the state her brother was in and blamed Olivia. Corrine and Olivia fought over Joel's living arrangements. Corrine wanted her brother to live in their home with good medical care, but Olivia said that Malcom would push him out of the window. Corrine ran out of the house after their argument and Malcolm again blamed Olivia when his daughter didn't come back home after dark. Everyone started looking for Corrine and Christopher was the one who found her with an injured leg. It was heavily raining so the two found shelter in a chapel nearby where Christopher took care of Corrine's leg. At one point the two shares a kiss, but nothing more happened as Malcom found them few moments later and Corinne was taken home. Malcolm had no idea what happened between his half brother and Corinne and was grateful to him so he said that he no longer has to work for his education by himself. Christopher started feeling guilty and reminded Corrine that he is her uncle and they can never be intimate. Corinne was heartbroken because she really had feelings for Christopher. Shortly after Corinne was heartbroken again as her brother told her that he will have to leave town in order to get better. Corrine received a marriage proposal from her friend Rockford and accepted it knowing that Christopher doesn't want to be with her. Olivia told Corinne that she can see in her eyes that she doesn't love this man and encouraged her to marry for love in the future. Corrine told Christopher that he is the one that she wants and loves and asked him if he feels the same and he admitted that he feels it too. The two made love and Olivia caught them. Corrine apologized to Olivia for what she has done and told her that she loves Christopher. Olivia told them that it's against the rules of God and that Malcolm will not understand. When Corinne said that she isn't scared of her father Olivia decided to reveal to the young pair that they are not only half uncle and niece, but half siblings as well as Alicia was their mother and she only raised Corinne as her own. Olivia assured Corrine that she might not be of her blood, but she's off her heart and she has done everything in order to protect her. Corinne told Christopher that she doesn't care about their genes and doesn't love him like a brother, but lover. The two of them admitted their feelings and kissed. Corinne wanted to run away with Christopher right away, but he said they need a plan because they didn't have any money. Corrine went to Malcolm's room presumably searching for money and she found her grandfathers will where it was revealed that half of the fortune should belong to Christopher. Malcolm was adamant that his father was not mentally sound when when he wrote it and that half would be only half of what he deserves. He told Corrine that he was the one working when his father was on a trip with his young bride and he was the one suffering when his mother left. She replied by saying that if he acted the same way when he was a child then she understands her mother leaving him. Malcolm took a lamp and wanted to hit Corrine with it, but decided to destroy the lamp instead. Malcolm told Corrine that he loves her and started to touch her inappropriately which made Corrine feel uncomfortable. Fortunately Olivia caught it and stopped her husband. Corinne said that she is done lying and she revealed that she is in love with Christopher and they will get married. Malcolm attempted to kill his half brother. Olivia shot a gun at the ceiling hoping to stop Malcolm, but he kept on strangling Christopher. Corrine hit her father's head and ran off downstairs with Christopher. She showed him the will, but Malcolm took it out of her hands and threw it into the fire. Christopher understood that his mother couldn't afford proper medical care because his brother lied and called him a coward. Corinne added that her father isn't just a coward, but a murderer and a rapist. Malcolm understood that Olivia was the one to tell her and he hit her. Christopher defended her and the servants arrived shortly after and helped her as well. Corrine informed the servants that her father attempted to kill Christopher and he called them the devil spawn. Corrine said that they all know that there is no love in his heart and reminded him that also Celia is his daughter that he conceived when he raped a servant. Malcolm hit his daughter when she told him that all the town knows about his sins and he has to force himself on people because nobody wants to be near him. Malcolm told Christopher that he will give him some money if he will leave Corrine alone. Christopher told him that he agrees and took the money, but it was a lie as he never intended to leave Corrine and used the money he received to escape with her. Corrine sent a letter to Olivia in which she wrote that she will never come back home until her father is alive. Corinne and Christopher were introducing themselves as the Dollangangers to not be connected to the Forworth's. Shortly after Corrine gave birth to their first child Christopher Dollanganger Jr. Not long after Corrine was pregnant once more and she gave birth to Catherine Dollanganger. Some years later God blessed them with two healthy twins Carrie Dollenganger and Cory Dollangagner. While Corrine and Christopher were blissfully happy together living with their children Malcolm had a stroke and Olivia took charge of the family company. Olivia, lonely without her children invited her religious cousin John Amos Jackson to her home. Under his influence she started praying more and slowly her religious obsession has begun. Olivia organized an investigation to find out what Corrine has been up to. Olivia has found out Corrine's new surname and also saw photos of her house and her wedding day. When she heard that Corrine and Christopher have 4 children she was horrified and asked the investigator if the children are healthy. She was surprised to see how perfectly normal and healthy they looked when she saw their photo. Five years later Corrine's happiness ended when police came to her house and informed her that her husband has died. For some time Corrine tried to make it on her own, but failed miserably. Back in Foxworth Hall Olivia was thinking to contact Corrine and offer help to her and her children, but her cousin John Amos told her that Corrine must repel for her sins. On the contrary to Amos Olivia's ex servant Nellie encouraged her to help her adoptive daughter and grandchildren. Corrine decided to send a letter to Olivia in which she asked her for help. Olivia cried tears of joy when she saw that Corrine wants to come home. She spoke to her cousin John about her sins and then he kissed her and tried to rape her which also had an impact on her already fragile mind. Olivia killed him and buried him in the garden however Jon Amos didn't die in that period of time in other movies. Olivia told Malcolm the good news and he wrote "I don't have a daughter" on a piece of paper. Corrine arrived in Foxworth Hall with their children and promised them the world. They believed it not knowing what hell is waiting there for them.

Trivia:[]

  • Corrine is shown to need a man to lean on, at first she is not independent and is naturally a very selfish person. As shown in Flowers In the Attic, but also when she marries her second husband, it is shown that she gained self-independence.
  • She is stated by Carrie in Petals on the wind to have a pearl necklace and butterfly clasp ("she had that diamond butterfly clasp I remember")
  • In Petals On the Wind, she may have put Cory's body in a hidden room in the Attic, but she states that she buried him in the ground in Flowers In the Attic.
  • In Garden of Shadows, her biological mother is revealed to be Alicia, who was locked up in the attic during her pregnancy with Corrine and Olivia fakes pregnancy to pass Corrine off as hers and never told Corrine the truth about not being her mother. Though, Garden was not fully written by Andrews and is not considered truly canon.
Advertisement