Ginger Rogers

Born

July 16, 1911

Died

April 25, 1995 (83 years old)

Known For

Acting

Place of Birth

Independence, Missouri, USA

IMDb

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.

Known For

0.0

2006

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

Self (archive footage)

4.9

2006

Reunited at MGM: Astaire and Rogers Together Again

Self (archive footage)

0.0

2005

Complicated Women

Self (archive footage)

6.7

2003

Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults

Self (Archival Footage)

0.0

1999

That's Entertainment! III

(archive footage)

7.0

1994

Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...

Self · (1 episode)

6.0

1991

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

Self (archive footage)

6.0

1988

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

Self (archive footage)

6.0

1988

The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood

Self · (2 episodes)

8.0

1987

Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood

Self

5.7

1987

Night of 100 Stars II

Self

8.0

1985

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

Self

5.6

1985

That's Dancing!

7.0

1985

Glitter

Margaret Davis · (1 episode)

4.5

1984

Going Hollywood: The '30s

(archive footage)

10.0

1984

Hotel

Natalie Trent · (1 episode)

6.8

1982

Night of 100 Stars

Self

6.7

1982

The Kennedy Center Honors

Self · (1 episode)

7.4

1978

The Love Boat

Stella Logan · (2 episodes)

6.3

1977

That's Entertainment, Part II

(archive footage)

6.9

1976

Hooray for Hollywood

Self (archive footage)

0.0

1976

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Self (archive footage)

5.7

1975

That's Entertainment!

(archive footage)

7.3

1974

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

Self · (2 episodes)

5.4

1973

The American Film Institute Salute to ...

Self · (1 episode)

6.3

1973

Hollywood: The Dream Factory

Self (archive footage)

6.0

1972

Great Performances

Self · (1 episode)

5.3

1971

Here's Lucy

Ginger Rogers · (1 episode)

6.7

1968

The Dick Cavett Show

Self - Guest · (1 episode)

6.7

1968

Omnibus

Self (archive footage) · (1 episode)

7.2

1967

Harlow

Mama Jean Bello

4.5

1965

Cinderella

Queen

6.4

1965

The Confession

Madame Rinaldi

1.0

1964

The Hollywood Palace

Self · (1 episode)

4.5

1964

The Hollywood Palace

Self - Singer · (1 episode)

4.5

1964

Vacation Playhouse

Elizabeth Harcourt / Margaret Harcourt · (1 episode)

7.0

1963

The Merv Griffin Show

Self · (4 episodes)

5.8

1962

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Self · (2 episodes)

7.5

1962

The Mike Douglas Show

Self · (1 episode)

5.4

1961

The DuPont Show with June Allyson

Kay Neilson · (1 episode)

6.3

1959

Oh, Men! Oh, Women!

Mildred Turner

5.8

1957

Teenage Rebel

Nancy Fallon

6.5

1956

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

Self · (2 episodes)

6.0

1956

The First Traveling Saleslady

Rose Gillray

5.4

1956

The Steve Allen Show

Self - Guest · (1 episode)

5.6

1956

The Steve Allen Show

Self - SInger · (1 episode)

5.6

1956

Tony Awards

Self · (1 episode)

5.1

1956

Tight Spot

Sherry Conley

6.3

1955

Black Widow

Carlotta Marin

6.4

1954

Beautiful Stranger

Johnny Victor

5.0

1954

Forever Female

Beatrice Page

6.7

1953

The Oscars

Self · (2 episodes)

7.1

1953

Monkey Business

Edwina Fulton

6.7

1952

Dreamboat

Gloria Marlowe

6.0

1952

We're Not Married!

Ramona Gladwyn

5.9

1952

The Groom Wore Spurs

AJ Furnival

4.4

1951

Storm Warning

Marsha Mitchell

6.6

1951

The Jack Benny Program

Ginger Rogers · (1 episode)

7.8

1950

Perfect Strangers

Terry Scott

6.2

1950

What's My Line?

Self - Panelist · (1 episode)

6.9

1950

What's My Line?

Self - Mystery Guest · (5 episodes)

6.9

1950

The Barkleys of Broadway

Dinah Barkley

6.8

1949

The Ed Sullivan Show

Self · (1 episode)

6.8

1948

It Had to Be You

Victoria Stafford

6.5

1947

Magnificent Doll

Dolly Madison

5.9

1946

Heartbeat

Arlette Lafron

4.9

1946

George White's Scandals

Ginger Rogers (archive footage) (uncredited)

5.3

1945

Week-End at the Waldorf

Irene Malvern

6.0

1945

I'll Be Seeing You

Mary Marshall

7.1

1944

Tender Comrade

Jo Jones

6.3

1944

Lady in the Dark

Liza Elliott

4.7

1944

Show-Business at War

Self

7.0

1943

Once Upon a Honeymoon

Katherine Butt-Smith

6.2

1942

The Major and the Minor

Susan Applegate

Ellie May Adams

6.5

1940

Fifth Avenue Girl

Mary Grey

7.0

1939

Bachelor Mother

Polly Parrish

7.1

1939

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

Irene Castle

6.9

1939

Carefree

Amanda Cooper

6.6

1938

Having Wonderful Time

Teddy Shaw

4.9

1938

Vivacious Lady

Francey

6.8

1938

Stage Door

Jean Maitland

7.0

1937

Screen Snapshots: Series 16, No. 12

Self (uncredited)

5.0

1937

Shall We Dance

Linda Keene

7.2

1937

Swing Time

Penny Carrol

6.8

1936

Follow the Fleet

Sherry Martin

6.8

1936

In Person

Carol Corliss

6.3

1935

Top Hat

Dale Tremont

7.3

1935

Star of Midnight

Donna Mantin

6.0

1935

Roberta

Comtesse Scharwenka

7.0

1935

Romance in Manhattan

Sylvia Dennis

7.8

1935

The Gay Divorcee

Mimi Glossop

6.9

1934

Twenty Million Sweethearts

Peggy Cornell

6.0

1934

Change of Heart

Madge Rountree

6.2

1934

Finishing School

Pony

6.2

1934

Upperworld

Lilly Linda

6.3

1934

Hollywood Newsreel

Self

4.0

1934

Flying Down to Rio

Honey Hale

6.3

1933

Sitting Pretty

Dorothy

7.5

1933

Chance at Heaven

Marge Harris

5.7

1933

Rafter Romance

Mary

6.5

1933

A Shriek in the Night

Pat Morgan

5.1

1933

Don't Bet on Love

Molly Gilbert

0.0

1933

Professional Sweetheart

Glory

5.0

1933

Gold Diggers of 1933

Fay

7.2

1933

42nd Street

Ann

6.9

1933

Broadway Bad

Flip Daly

5.0

1933

You Said a Mouthful

Alice Brandon

5.0

1932

Hat Check Girl

Jessie King

6.0

1932

Hollywood on Parade No. A-1

Self

4.0

1932

The Thirteenth Guest

Lela / Marie Morgan

4.9

1932

Hollywood on Parade

Self

3.0

1932

The Tenderfoot

Ruth Weston

6.0

1932

Carnival Boat

Honey

5.0

1932

Suicide Fleet

Sally

4.3

1931

The Tip-Off

Baby Face

5.2

1931

Honor Among Lovers

Doris Brown

5.7

1931

Follow the Leader

Mary Brennan

5.3

1930

Office Blues

Miss Gravis

5.0

1930

Queen High

Polly Rockwell

6.0

1930

The Sap from Syracuse

Ellen Saunders

4.9

1930

Young Man of Manhattan

Puff Randolph

5.5

1930

Campus Sweethearts

0.0

1930

A Night in a Dormitory

Ginger Rogers

4.9

1930

A Day of a Man of Affairs

0.0

1929