Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri on July 16, 1911. Her mother, known as Lelee, went to Independence to have Ginger away from her husband. She had a baby earlier in their marriage and he allowed the doctor to use forceps and the baby died. She was kidnapped by her father several times until her mother took him to court. Ginger's mother left her child in the care of her parents while she went in search of a job as a scriptwriter in Hollywood and later to New York City. Mrs. McMath found herself with an income good enough to where she could send for Ginger. Lelee became a Marine in 1918 and was in the publicity department and Ginger went back to her grandparents in Missiouri. During this time her mother met John Rogers. After leaving the Marines they married in May, 1920 in Liberty, Missouri. He was transferred to Dallas and Ginger . Afterward, she appeared on Broadway and other stage plays traveling in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. After 1984, she retired and wrote an autobiography in 1991 entitled, "Ginger, My Story" which is a very good book. On April 25, 1995, Ginger died of natural causes in Rancho Mirage, California. She was 83.
Daughter of Lela E. Rogers.
Was a Christian Scientist.
Was given the name "Ginger" by her little cousin who couldnt pronounce "Virginia" correctly.
Brought her first cousin Helen Nichols to Hollywood, renamed her Phyllis Fraser, and guided her through a few films. Phyllis Fraser married and then became known as Phyllis Fraser.
Interred at Oakwood Memorial Park, Chatsworth, California, USA, the same cemetery as long-time dancing/acting partner Fred Astaire is located.
Sort-of cousin of Rita Hayworth. Rogers aunt married Hayworths uncle.
She didnt drink alcohol and had her very own ice cream soda fountain.
Directed her first stage musical, "Babes In Arms", at age 74.
Was fashion consultant for the J.C. Penney chain from 1972-1975.
A keen artist, Rogers did many paintings, sculptures and sketches in her free time, but could never bring herself to sell any of them.
Was Hollywoods highest-paid star of 1942.
Author Graham Greene always said he would have liked Rogers to play the role of Aunt Augusta in the film version of his novel "Travels With My Aunt". When the film Travels with My Aunt was made in 1972, the role was played by Maggie Smith.
The well-known quote often attributed to her - "My first picture was [ Kitty Foyle ]. It was my mother [Lela E. Rogers ] who made all those films with Fred Astaire " - was actually fabricated for a 1966 article in "Films In Review".
Always the outdoor sporty type, she was a near-champion tennis player, a topline shot and loved going fishing.
She made her final public appearance on March 18, 1995 (just five weeks before her death) when she received the Womens International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award.
Was badly affected by illness in her last years after suffering two strokes that had left her wheelchair-bound and visibly overweight, while her voice had become a shrunken rasp.
Related to Random House publisher and "Whats My Line?" panelist Bennett Cerf through marriage; Cerf married Rogers cousin Phyllis Fraser.
Was asked to replace Judy Garland in both Harlow and Valley of the Dolls . Rogers turned down Valley of the Dolls because she hated the script; she did, however, accept Harlow.
First cousin, once removed, of Christopher Cerf and Jonathan Cerf.
Was a life-long Republican.
Turned down lead roles in To Each His Own and The Snake Pit . Both of these roles went on to be played to great acclaim by Olivia de Havilland.
Her first teaming with Fred Astaire , Flying Down to Rio , was her 20th film appearance but only Astaires second.
In a 1991 TV interview, when asked why the Fred Astaire / Rogers union wasnt known as "Ginger & Fred" rather than "Fred & Ginger" (as Rogers had been in films longer), she replied, "Its a mans world".
Her tied-to-the-hip relationship with her mother, Lela E. Rogers , proved eternal. Theyre buried side by side at Oakwood Memorial Park. The grave of Gingers screen partner, Fred Astaire , is just yards away.
Was named #14 actress on the American Film Institutes list of 50 Greatest Screen Legends.
Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna s song "Vogue".
She and Fred Astaire acted in 10 movies together: The Barkleys of Broadway , Carefree , Flying Down to Rio , Follow the Fleet , The Gay Divorcee , Roberta (1935) , Shall We Dance , The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle , Swing Time , and Top Hat (1935) .
A distant cousin of Lucille Ball , according to Lucie Arnaz.
She was of Scottish, Welsh, English, and Irish ancestry.
During the last years of her life, she retired in Oregon and bought a ranch in the Medford area because she liked the climate. She donated money to the community and funded the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in downtown Medford, which was named after her.
In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by either Lydia Simoneschi or Wanda Tettoni. She was occasionally dubbed by Andreina Pagnani , Dhia Cristiani , Rosetta Calavetta , and Giovanna Scotto.
Has a street named after her in Rancho Mirage, California, her final winter home. Ginger Rogers Road is located in the Mission Hills Golf Course. It crosses Bob Hope Drive, between Gerald Ford Drive and Dinah Shore Drive and two blocks from Frank Sinatra Drive.
She was a conservative Republican, a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a Christian Scientist and a vocal supporter of the Hollywood blacklist.
Salary for 1938: $219,500 (adjusted for 2017 inflation: approximately $3.8 million).
One of the celebrities whose picture Anne Frank placed on the wall of her bedroom in the "Secret Annex" while in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, Holland.
Her great-great-grandfather was a doctor who discovered quinine, the cure for malaria.
For the "Cheek to Cheek" number in Top Hat (1935) , she wanted to wear an elaborate blue dress heavily decked out with ostrich feathers. When director Mark Sandrich and Fred Astaire saw the dress, they knew it would be impractical for the dance. Sandrich suggested that Rogers wear the white gown she had worn performing "Night and Day" in The Gay Divorcee . Rogers walked off the set, finally returning when Sandrich agreed to let her wear the offending blue dress. As there was no time for rehearsals, she wore the blue feathered dress for the first time during filming of the "Cheek to Cheek" number, and as Astaire and Sandrich had feared, feathers started coming off the dress. Astaire later claimed it was like "a chicken being attacked by a coyote". In the final film, some stray feathers can be seen drifting off it. To patch up the rift between them, Astaire presented Rogers with a charm of a gold feather to add to her charm bracelet. This was the origin of Rogers nickname "Feathers". The shedding feathers episode was recreated to hilarious results in a scene from Easter Parade in which Astaire danced with a clumsy, comical dancer played by Judy Garland.
Turned down Donna Reed s role in Its a Wonderful Life .
She first introduced the song "The Continental" in The Gay Divorcee and it went on to be the first song that won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Replaced Judy Garland in the film The Barkleys of Broadway after Garland was suspended from MGM due to her tardiness.
Was offered the part of Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday , but she turned it down. Rosalind Russell was cast instead.
Inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in 2009.
Was good friends with actress Maureen OHara since the late 1930s.
When Rogers received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1992, Robyn Smith , widow of Fred Astaire , withheld all rights to clips of Rogers scenes with Astaire, demanding payment. The Kennedy Center refused and Rogers received her honor without the retrospective show.
All of her five marriages lasted under a decade. Her longest marriage was her last, to William Marshall , which lasted eight years. She never had children.
Rogers holds the record for actresses at New Yorks prestigious Rdio City Music Hall with 23 films for a total of 55 weeks.
According to the 1974 book "Holly-Would", Rogers was taught the Charleston by Eddie Foy Jr. and went on the win the championship of Texas when she was only 15.
Was the 16th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Actress Oscar for Kitty Foyle at The 13th Academy Awards on February 27, 1941.
Fred Astaire confided in Raymond Rohauer , curator of New York Gallery of Modern Art, "Ginger was brilliantly effective. She made everything work fine for her. Actually she made things very fine for both of us and she deserves most of the credit for our success".
Made the cover of Life magazine four times: August 22, 1938, December 9, 1940, March 2, 1942, and September 5, 1951.
In 1976, when Fred Astaire was asked by British TV interviewer Michael Parkinson on "Parkinson" who his favorite dancing partner was, Astaire answered, "Excuse me, I must say Ginger was certainly the one. You know the most effective partner I ever had. Everyone knows. That was a whole other thing what we did...I just want to pay a tribute to Ginger because we did so many pictures together and believe me it was a value to have that girl...she had it. She was just great!".
In 1986, Fred Astaire recalled, "All the girls I ever danced with thought they couldnt do it. So they always cried. All except Ginger. No, no, Ginger never cried".
She turned down Barbara Stanwyck s role in Ball of Fire .
Is one of 12 actresses who won the Best Actress Oscar for playing a character who is pregnant at some point during the film; hers being for Kitty Foyle . The others are Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet , Luise Rainer for The Good Earth , Vivien Leigh for Gone with the Wind , Olivia de Havilland for To Each His Own , Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda , Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo , Julie Christie for Darling , Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl , Liza Minnelli for Cabaret , Sissy Spacek for Coal Miners Daughter and Frances McDormand for Fargo .
Was married to third husband, Jack Briggs, at the First Methodist Church in Pasadena, California. Reverend Edwin Day performed the ceremony.
The only way to enjoy anything in this life is to earn it first.
Hollywood is like an empty wastebasket.
It was tough being a woman in the theatrical business in those days.
It was a whole new life for me. I was excited about it. It was happy,and beautiful and gay and interesting. I was surrounded by marvelous,people, all the top people of our industry.
I think the motion pictures talked themselves out of business when they,sold their backlogs [to TV networks]. They sold what they thought were,old clothes. It turns out some of them had better material in them than,their new ones.
[on being asked in 1943 what a girl needs to be a movie star],Intelligence, adaptability and talent. And by talent I mean the,capacity for hard work. Lots of girls come here with little but good,looks. Beauty is a valuable asset, but it is not the whole cheese.
All you have to do is be a good average dancer and anybody who spends,the time and effort can accomplish this.
I believe in living each day as it comes, to the best of my ability.
Gossip is hardly uplifting.
Perhaps I am old-fashioned, but black and white films still hold an,affectionate place in my heart; they have an incomparable mystique and,mood.
There are no small parts. Only small actors.
The fun, joy, and humor dry up in a relationship when one of the,partners is swimming in gin. To my way of thinking, it is selfishness,personified to see life through the bottom of a liquor bottle.
The only way to enjoy anything in this life is to earn it first.
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