Rogers, Ginger (1911-1995), was an American actress perhaps best known as Fred Astaire’s dancing partner in musical comedies of the 1930’s. Rogers was also a skilled dramatic performer, winning the 1940 Academy Award as best actress for her performance in the romantic drama Kitty Foyle.
Rogers was born on July 16, 1911, in Independence, Missouri. Her real name was Virginia Katherine McMath. As a teenager, Rogers performed in vaudeville as a singer and dancer and also sang with dance bands. She got her first big break in show business in a leading role in the Broadway musical Top Speed (1929). She also appeared in the musical Girl Crazy (1930) before moving to Hollywood in 1931 to start her movie career.
Rogers played wisecracking young women in such movies as 42nd Street (1933) and Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) before making Flying Down to Rio (1933), her first film with Fred Astaire. Their graceful dancing and the chemistry between the two led to nine more musicals. They were The Gay Divorcee (1934), Roberta and Top Hat (both 1935), Follow the Fleet and Swing Time (both 1936), Shall We Dance? (1937), Carefree (1938), The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949).
Rogers also appeared in several nonmusical films that displayed her skills as a comedian, especially Bachelor Mother (1939), Tom, Dick and Harry (1941), The Major and the Minor and Roxie Hart (both 1942), and Monkey Business (1952). She retired from movies in 1965 after making about 70 pictures. She wrote an autobiography, Ginger: My Story (1991). Rogers died on April 25, 1995.
