Ginger Rogers (16 July 1911 – 25 April 1995), born Virginia Katherine McMath, was an American actress, dancer, and singer who was best-known for her partnership with Fred Astaire in several RKO musical films. The two of them were also longtime Republican Party supporters.
Biography[]
Virginia Katherine McMath was born in Independence, Missouri on 16 July 1911. In 1915, she moved in with her grandparents in Kansas City, and she gained her nickname "Ginger" from "Ginga", the nickname that her cousin gave to her due to the cousin's inability to pronounce the name "Virginia". Rogers originally wanted to become a teacher, but she was influenced by her mother's interest in theater and Hollywood, and she first appeared on film in 1929. From 1933 to 1939, she made nine musical films at RKO with Fred Astaire, and she starred in nonmusical films after the partnership ended in 1939. Rogers was a registered member of the Republican Party, as she was a devout Christian Science follower; she favored prayers to medicine. Her popularity peaked in the late 1940s, by which time she was Hollywood's highest-paid actress, and she returned to Broadway in 1965 after a lack of success during the 1950s. She died in 1995 at the age of 83 after years of directing, or acting in, stage plays.