Rogers, Ginger

(1911-1995)

   Born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri, dancer and actress Ginger Rogers began performing in vaudeville in 1925 and by 1930 had appeared in a few short films and on Broadway, most notably in Top Speed from 1929 to 1930 and Girl Crazy from 1930 to 1931. In 1933, she appeared in a number of films, including 42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1933, and Flying Down to Rio, with Fred Astaire. Thus began a successful partnership that continued with The Gay Divorcee (1934), Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Swing Time (1936), and Shall We Dance (1937). Rogers also made several films without Astaire, including Stage Door (1937) with Katherine Hepburn, and Vivacious Lady (1938) with James Stewart. She received an Academy Award for Best Actress in Kitty Foyle in 1940 and appeared in a number of films in the 1940s, including Tales of Manhattan (1942), I’ll Be Seeing You (1944), and It Had to Be You (1947). She was reunited with Astaire in The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) and made several other successful films in the 1950s. Rogers returned to the stage and toured in both musicals and nonmusicals between 1951 and 1984, including Annie Get Your Gun, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Mame, Anything Goes, and Hello, Dolly! From 1954 onward, she also made a number of television appearances. Her last film role was in Harlow in 1965, and her last stage performance was in Charley’s Aunt in 1984.

   See also Cinema; Literature and theater.