Ginger Rogers is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She gained the greatest fame in joint performances with Fred Aster in films of the early 30s. Ginger Rogers biography, her personal life and creative career are further in this article.
early years
Virginia Katherine McMath, better known by her pseudonym Ginger Rogers, was born July 16, 1911, in Independence, Missouri (USA). She was the only child in the family of Lila and Ulham McMath, a journalist and electrical engineer with Scottish, Welsh and English roots. In the year the girls were born, the spouses McMath divorced. Leela soon left for Hollywood to try her luck in the profession of screenwriter, and little Virginia remained in the care of her grandparents from her mother. Below is a baby photo of Ginger Rogers with his father.
At the age of seven, Virginia received from one of her little cousins, unable to pronounce her complex name, the nickname "Ginja", which took root and subsequently turned into the pseudonym "Ginger". When the girl turned nine, her mother remarried - to John Logan Rogers. From him, the future actress took the name, despite the fact that he did not officially adopt it. At the same time, the girl again began to live with her mother - Leela was successful as a screenwriter, and Ginja, watching the work of her mother at the film studio and in the theater, was more and more imbued with acting and the stage.
Carier start
In 1926, 15-year-old Jinja Rogers won the Charleston-style dance competition - the prize was a six-month tour with professional dancers. It was during this tour that the girl was offered to change the name of Ginja to a more harmonious Ginger - this is how the name of the future star was formed, under which she later became famous.
At the age of 17, Ginger Rogers moved to New York, where she got a job as a singer on the radio. In 1929, she made her debut on Broadway - she played a small role in the musical Speed Limit. After that, she was noticed and in 1930 was invited to the main role in the production of "Crazy Girl". Having coped brilliantly with a role that included choreography and vocals, Rogers instantly became a star. At the same time, she met Fred Astaire, who was invited to this musical as a choreographer and dance director.
The first films with Ginger Rogers were three short films of 1929 - "Night at the hostel", "Business Man's Day" and "Beloved Campus". The aspiring actress starred in more than ten films from 1929 to 1933, but the first real success was the role of Ann Lowell in the film "42nd Street" (1933).
Duets with Fred Aster
The most famous in the filmography of Ginger Rogers are ten musical paintings in which she performed in a duet with Hollywood's most famous dancer Fred Astaire. List of these films:
- "Flight to Rio" (1933);
- "Cheerful divorced" (1934);
- "Robert" (1935);
- The Cylinder (1935);
- "Following the fleet" (1936);
- "Swing Time" (1936);
- "Let's dance?" (1937);
- "Carefree" (1938);
- "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle" (1939);
- "A Couple of Barkley from Broadway" (1949).
The 33 dance performances performed by Rogers and Aster have revolutionized the movie musical genre, captivating audiences with unprecedented elegance and virtuosity. Most film critics agree that Ginger was the best of Fred Astaire's dance partners, as she not only amazingly danced, but also possessed dramatic and comedic talent. One of the most famous dance numbers called "Last Dance" from the movie "Swing Time" can be seen below.
Further creativity
Despite the fact that the partnership with Aster brought Ginger Rogers popularity, in the same years she starred in no less successful non-musical films. It is worth noting the film "The Door to the Stage" of 1937, where the actress fully demonstrated her dramatic abilities. Among the most successful comedies of this period are Lively Lady (1938), Girl with Fifth Avenue (1939), and Mom Bachelor (1939).
In 1940, the actress played a major role in the film "Kitty Foyle", for which in 1941, bypassing the famous stars Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Joan Fontaine, she received the Academy Award. Another prominent role was Roxy Hart in the 1942 film of the same name - later this adaptation of the play Chicago in 1926 formed the basis of the legendary 70s musical and the 2002 film.
In the same year, the actress played in the comedy "Major and Baby" - he is interested in an acting debut with her mother Lila Rogers, who embodied on the screen the mother of the heroine Ginger.
Freed from long contracts with RKO and Paramount Studios, Ginger Rogers did not resort to the services of agents and chose roles for herself. She starred in her most successful films of the 40s, such as "The Tender Comrade" (1943), "Play in the Dark" (1944) and "Weekend in Waldorf" (1945), and became the highest paid actress in Hollywood.
By the beginning of the 50s, Rogers' successful career gradually began to decline, but she still appeared in several successful films with a star cast. For example, she starred in the films Storm Warning (1950) with Ronald Reagan and Doris Day, The Monkey Labor (1952) with Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe and We Are Not Married (1952), also with Marilyn Monroe.
Late work
After a series of inconspicuous films, the actress returned to Broadway and was a huge success, playing the main role in the musical "Hello, Dolly!" 1965 year. In 1969, she played a major role in the musical Mom, which went on in one of London's theaters and was even presented to Queen Elizabeth II. After that, the actress occasionally appeared on the screen, most often as a cameo or a guest star - for example, starring in one series of a popular television show. So, she appeared in the television series "Boat of Love" (1979), "Shine" (1984) and "Hotel" (1987). The role in the "Hotel" was the last film work in the career of Ginger Rogers.
Personal life
Ginger Rogers first married in March 1929 when she was 17 years old. Her husband was childhood friend Jack Pepper - a dancer, singer and comedian, with whom they performed in a duet. The newlyweds broke up two months after the wedding, but officially remained spouses until 1931.
In 1932, Rogers began a relationship with actor and director Mervyn Leroy, but the young people quickly finished them, while remaining friends for the rest of their lives. In 1934, Ginger married actor Lew Aires, with whom she spent seven years in marriage.
In 1943, the actress married for the third time - to the marine Marines Jack Briggs, who also began an acting career. The couple lived together for six years and divorced due to creative differences.
The fourth husband of Ginger Roger was the French lawyer Jean Bergerac, who was 16 years younger than his wife. Moving to Hollywood, he also began an acting career and soon met a new young lover - Rogers broke up his fourth marriage four years later.
The fifth and last spouse of the actress was the director and producer William Marshall, with whom they became engaged to in 1961. The couple lived together for ten years and divorced on the basis of the collapse of their joint film company, organized in Jamaica, and the progressive alcoholism of Marshal. In none of the five marriages did the actress become a mother.
Death
At the age of 22, Ginger Rogers was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, however, as an adherent of Christian science, she never went to the doctors and did not take medicine. Her fifth husband, William Marshall, deceived Ginger and gave her insulin injections under the guise of vitamins, which she found out only after the divorce. In the early 90s, the actress had a heart attack, and she was partially paralyzed, but still did not want to go to the hospital and refused all medicines. In early 1995, Rogers fell into a diabetic coma related to lifelong non-compliance with diabetic treatment. Without leaving her coma, the actress died on April 25, 1995, at the age of 83.
Memory
Even during the life of the actress, a star with her name was installed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Rogers is the heroine of Ginger Rogers and the Cloak of the Scarlet Cloak, written by her mother Lila in 1942. In 2007, the premiere of the biographical musical Forward on High Heels took place in Florida.