
Ginger Rogers
Biography
Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the twentieth century.
During her long career, she made a total of 73 films and is noted for her role as Fred Astaire's partner in a series of ten musical films. She achieved great success in a variety of film roles and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kitty Foyle. After winning a 1925 Charleston dance contest that launched a successful vaudeville career, she gained recognition as a Broadway actress for her stage debut in Girl Crazy. This led to a contract with Paramount Pictures, which ended after five films. Rogers had her first successful film role as a supporting actress in 42nd Street.
In the 1930s, Rogers' nine films with Fred Astaire gave RKO Pictures some of its biggest successes, most notably Top Hat and Swing Time. But after two commercial failures with Astaire, she branched out into dramatic and comedy films. Her acting was well received by critics and audiences, and she became one of the biggest box-office draws and highest paid actresses of the 1940s. Her performance in Kitty Foyle won her the Oscar for Best Actress.
Rogers' popularity peaked by the end of the decade. She reunited with Astaire in 1949 in the commercially successful The Barkleys of Broadway. After an unsuccessful period in the 1950s, she returned to Broadway in 1965, playing the lead role in Hello, Dolly!. More Broadway roles followed, along with her stage directorial debut in 1985 of an off-Broadway production of Babes in Arms. She also made television acting appearances until 1987. In 1992, Rogers was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors. She died of a heart attack in 1995, at age 83.
Rogers is associated with the phrase "backwards and in high heels", which is attributed to Bob Thaves' Frank and Ernest 1982 cartoon with the caption "Sure he [Astaire] was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did...backwards and in high heels". This phrase is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Ann Richards, who used it in her keynote address to the 1988 Democratic National Convention.
A Republican and a devout Christian Scientist, Rogers married five times with all of them ending in divorce, and having no children. During her long career, Rogers made 73 films, and her musical films with Astaire are credited with revolutionizing the genre. Rogers was a major movie star during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood and is often considered an American icon. She ranks number 14 on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list of female stars of classic American cinema. Her autobiography Ginger: My Story was published in 1991.
Acting (106 movies)

42nd Street
1933

Top Hat
1935

Swing Time
1936

I'll Be Seeing You
1944

We're Not Married!
1952

Monkey Business
1952

Gold Diggers of 1933
1933

Shall We Dance
1937

Hollywood on Parade No. A-1
1932

Roberta
1935

A Shriek in the Night
1933

Cinderella
1965

Vivacious Lady
1938

Tales of Manhattan
1942

The Gay Divorcee
1934

Follow the Fleet
1936

Flying Down to Rio
1933

Storm Warning
1951

Bachelor Mother
1939

Carefree
1938

Heartbeat
1946

The Barkleys of Broadway
1949

Once Upon a Honeymoon
1942

Stage Door
1937

Black Widow
1954

Fifth Avenue Girl
1939

Having Wonderful Time
1938

The Major and the Minor
1942

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
1939

Primrose Path
1940

Star of Midnight
1935

Perfect Strangers
1950

It Had to Be You
1947

Roxie Hart
1942

Tight Spot
1955

Teenage Rebel
1956

The Thirteenth Guest
1932

Dreamboat
1952

Tom, Dick and Harry
1941

Week-End at the Waldorf
1945

Kitty Foyle
1940

Tender Comrade
1944

Beautiful Stranger
1954

Lady in the Dark
1944

The Groom Wore Spurs
1951

Oh, Men! Oh, Women!
1957

Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972

Twenty Million Sweethearts
1934

Rafter Romance
1933

Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
1988

Chance at Heaven
1933

The Tip-Off
1931

Forever Female
1953

Lucky Partners
1940

The Tenderfoot
1932

Honor Among Lovers
1931

Don't Bet on Love
1933

In Person
1935

Sitting Pretty
1933

The First Traveling Saleslady
1956

Romance in Manhattan
1935

Finishing School
1934

Queen High
1930

Upperworld
1934

Young Man of Manhattan
1930

Carnival Boat
1932

Suicide Fleet
1931

Magnificent Doll
1946

Professional Sweetheart
1933

Broadway Bad
1933

Change of Heart
1934

Follow the Leader
1930

You Said a Mouthful
1932

Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984

The Sap from Syracuse
1930

Hat Check Girl
1932

"All -Singing All-Dancing" Before And After
2006

The Confession
1964

Hollywood on Parade
1932

That's Entertainment!
1974

Night of 100 Stars II
1985

Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
2006

Busby Berkeley: A Journey with a Star
2007

That's Entertainment! III
1994

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975

A Night in a Dormitory
1930

Harlow
1965

Show-Business at War
1943

Complicated Women
2003

That's Entertainment, Part II
1976

Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm
2006

George White's Scandals
1945

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
1985

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009

That's Dancing!
1985

Screen Snapshots: Series 16, No. 12
1937

A Day of a Man of Affairs
1929

Fred Astaire donne le 'la'
2017

Astaire and Rogers Sing the Great American Songbook
2010
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