Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress, singer and dancer. In a career spanning thirty-five years she made a total of seventy-three 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.

Biography

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Early life

Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri, the daughter of Eddins McMath, of Scottish ancestry and Lela Owens McMath, 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.

Her parents became estranged and fought for custody, with her father even absconding with her at one point. After they divorced Rogers stayed with her grandparents, Walter and Saphrona Owens, while her mother wrote screenplays for two years in Hollywood. Several of Rogers' cousins had a hard time pronouncing her first name Virginia, shortening it to "Ginga".

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