VIRGINIA KATHERINE MCMATH was born on July 16, 1911 in Independence, Missouri. Her mother, Lela Owens McMath had recently separated from Virginia's father, Eddins McMath, and brought Virginia up with the help of her parents, Walter and Saphrona Owens of Kansas City. The separation was not a pleasant one, and Virginia's father twice kidnapped her (once when she was less than a year old and again two years later) during a custody dispute with Lela. Finally the two divorced and young Virginia went to live with her grandparents in Kansas City while her mother worked for two years in Hollywood writing screenplays, and later in New York City where Virginia joined her for a time. Also living with her grandparents in Kansas City were several of Virginia's cousins, one of whom couldn't pronounce her name and called her "Jinja." Needless to say, it stuck.
In 1920, Ginger's mother married insurance salesman John Logan Rogers and the family of three moved to Fort Worth, Texas. Though she was never formally adopted, Ginger took her step-father's name. While the freckle-faced
•
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath, July 16, 1911 - April 25, 1995) was an Americanactress, dancer and singer. She was born in Independence, Missouri.
During her long career, she made a total of 73 films, collaborating with Fred Astaire as a romantic lead actress and dancing partner in a series of ten Hollywood musical films that revolutionized the genre.
She achieved great success on her own in a variety of film roles and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kitty Foyle (1940). She ranks #14 on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list of actress screen legends. She also appeared on numerous television programs. She died of a heart attack in Rancho Mirage, California.
1933–1939: Astaire and Rogers
[change | change source]
Rogers was most famous for her partnership with Fred Astaire. Together, from 1933 to 1939, they made nine musical films at RKO and one at MGM. They revolutionized the Hollywood musical, introducing dance routines of unprecedented elegance and virtuosity, set to songs specially composed for them by t
•
Ginger Rogers
Ginger: My Story
It Books
Edward Gallafent
Astaire and Rogers
Columbia University Press
Marilyn Henry
Ginger Rogers Paper Dolls
Paper Studio Press
Homer Dickens
The Films of Ginger Rogers
Lyle Stuart
Dick Richards
Ginger: salute to a star
Clifton Books
Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, Marilyn Monroe
Monkey Business (1952)
DVD
Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller
Stage Door (1937)
DVD
Dolores del Rio, Gene Raymond, Raul Roulien, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire
Flying Down to Rio
Turner Home Ent
DVD
John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Frank Conroy, Joan Crawford
Grand Hotel
Warner Home Video
DVD
Ginger Rogers, Walter Pidgeon, Celeste Holm, Jo Van Fleet, Stuart Damon
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Sony Pictures
DVD
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore