Ginger Rogers

About Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress, dancer and singer. In a film career spanning fifty years she made a total of 73 films, and is now principally celebrated for her role as Fred Astaire's romantic interest and dancing partner in a series of ten Hollywood musical films that revolutionized the genre.

Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri, the daughter of William Eddins McMath, of Scottish ancestry, and his wife Lela Owens, of Welsh ancestry. Her mother separated from Rogers' father soon after her birth, and mother and daughter went to live with the Walter Owens family in nearby Kansas City. Ginger was close to her grandfather and she later (1939) bought him a home in Sherman Oaks, California (5115 Greenbush Ave) so that he could be close to her while she was filming at the studios.

Rogers' parents divorced and fought for custody, with her father even kidnapping her twice. After they divorced, Rogers stayed with her grandparents, Walter and Saphrona Owens, while her mother wrote scripts for two years in Hollywood. Several of Rogers' cousins had a hard time pronouncing her first name Virginia, shortening it to "Ginya".