Virginia Helena Gruppé was born in 1907 at Villa Nellie in Katwijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, to American parents Helen Elizabeth (née Mitchell, 1868–1948) and Charles P. Gruppé.

She was the youngest child, and her siblings all established themselves in the arts, Paulo Mesdag (1891–1979) as a cellist, Karl Heinrich (1893–1982) as a sculptor, and Emile Albert Gruppé was a painter.

][2] Gruppé was married to Vincent Quirk, a chemist specializing in art restoration.

[5][3] Gruppé died on 10 March 1980 from a heart attack in her home in Murray, New York.

[3] In 31 March 1980, less than a month later, her husband Vincent died from pneumonia.