Ginger Rogers.

Virginia Katherine McMath

Ginger Rogers — Actor

Born 16 Jul 1911 Independence, United States

Died 25 Apr 1995 Rancho Mirage, United States

Citizenship United States

Would Be 114 yr If Living

16 min read

Reading time

3,073

Words

Jun 21, 2026

Published

134

Film credits

1

Book

4

Awards

TL;DR

Ginger Rogers won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1941 for her role in Kitty Foyle. She is best remembered for her dance partnership with Fred Astaire, with whom she made ten films including Top Hat 1935 and Swing Time 1936. Rogers also introduced The Continental in The Gay Divorcee 1934, which won the first Best Original Song Oscar.

Identity & family.

KIN · 7

Names, aliases, and relatives of Ginger Rogers — birth name, kin, and personal ties.

Birth Name Virginia Katherine McMath

Nicknames Feathers

Aliases Ginger

PARENTS: Lela E. Rogers Eddins McMath
SPOUSES: William Marshall Jacques Bergerac Jack Briggs Lew Ayres Jack Pepper

At a glance.

STATS

Ginger Rogers by the numbers — life, work, and family.

83 Years lived

134 Film credits

1 Book

4 Awards

5 Marriages

Who was Ginger Rogers?

BIOGRAPHY

Ginger Rogers — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.

Early life

Winning a Charleston contest in 1925 at age 14 launched Ginger Rogers into vaudeville. Born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri on July 16, 1911, she was the daughter of Lela E. Rogers and Eddins McMath. Her mother pursued a career as a scriptwriter in Hollywood and later New York, leaving Rogers with her grandparents for periods. After her mother married John Rogers in 1920, the family moved to Dallas, where Rogers began performing in vaudeville acts with her mother’s guidance.

Career

Rogers’ first notable film appearance was in 42nd Street 1933, where she improvised a monocle. The same year, she sang We’re in the Money in Gold Diggers of 1933. Her partnership with Fred Astaire began with Flying Down to Rio 1933. Over the next decade, they made ten films, including Top Hat 1935, where she wore a feather dress that shed during the Cheek to Cheek number. Rogers introduced The Continental in The Gay Divorcee 1934, which won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1940, she won the Oscar for Best Actress for Kitty Foyle. Rogers was Hollywood’s highest-paid star in 1942. She later ventured into television and stage, making her final film appearance in Harlow 1965.

Personal life

Rogers was married five times: to Jack Pepper 1929-1931, Lew Ayres 1934-1941, Jack Briggs 1943-1949, Jacques Bergerac 1953-1957, and William Marshall 1961-1969. None of the marriages lasted longer than eight years, and she had no children. She was a lifelong Republican and a Christian Scientist. In later years, she retired to Oregon, where she funded the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in Medford. She died of congestive heart failure in Rancho Mirage, California on April 25, 1995 at age 83.

Legacy

Rogers’ legacy with Fred Astaire redefined the Hollywood musical. The American Film Institute listed her as the 14th greatest female screen legend. Four of her films—42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1933, Top Hat, and Swing Time—are in the National Film Registry. She received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1992. Rogers also supported the arts in Oregon, funding the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater. She is remembered as an Oscar-winning actress and a dancer who never cried on set, as Astaire noted.

Filmography.

FILMS · 134

Browse the complete filmography of Ginger Rogers — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.

TV

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962
TV

The Love Boat

1977
TV

The Mike Douglas Show

1961
TV

Great Performances

1971
TV

Hotel

1982
TV

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

1956
TV

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

1963
TV

The Merv Griffin Show

1962
TV

The Dick Cavett Show

1968
TV

Here's Lucy

1968
TV

Tony Awards

1956
TV

What's My Line?

1950
TV

The Ed Sullivan Show

1948
TV

The Steve Allen Show

1956

Could not load more credits.

Awards & honors.

AWARDS · 4

Every award, honor, and recognition received by Ginger Rogers — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.

Academy Award for Best Actress
Kennedy Center Honors
star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Amateur Cartoonist Extraordinary Award

Bibliography.

BOOKS · 1

Ginger Rogers's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.

Amazon

Ginger

by Ginger Rogers

Notable quotes.

QUOTES · 22

A wall of memorable lines from Ginger Rogers — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.

When Two People Love Each Other, They Don’t Look at Each Other, They Look in the Same Direction.
The Only Way to Enjoy Anything in This Life Is to Earn It First.
When You’re Happy, You Don’t Count the Years.
Hollywood Is Like an Empty Wastebasket.
The Most Important Thing in Anyone’s Life Is to Be Giving Something. the Quality I Can Give Is Fun, Joy and Happiness. This Is My Gift.
Even When One Is of a Certain Age to Make One’s Own Decisions, There Are Many Times When It Is Great to Be Able to Go Back and Talk It Over with the People One Loves One’s Family.
I’m Most Grateful to Have Had That Joyous Time in Motion Pictures. It Really Was a Golden Age of Hollywood. Pictures Were Talking, They Were Singing, They Were Coloring. It Was Beginning to Blossom Out: Bud and Blossom Were Both Present.
In Everything That I Do I Learn and Try to Put It to Use. I Have Learned to Go Through Life Not into It. It’s Like a Boat. You Mustn’t Let the Water in or You’re Sunk. of Course, I’ve Made Mistakes and I Have Had Failures, but I Do Not Dwell on Them Because People Don’t Care About Garbage. When I Make a Mistake It’s Like a Bad Leaf on a Lettuce I Throw It Out into the Wastebasket.
You Bring Out a Lot of Your Own Thoughts and Attitudes When Acting. I Think a Great Deal of It Has to Do with the Inner You. You Know, There’s Nothing Damnable About Being a Strong Woman. the World Needs Strong Women. There Are a Lot of Strong Women You Do Not See Who Are Guiding, Helping, Mothering Strong Men. They Want to Remain Unseen. It’s Kind of Nice to Be Able to Play a Strong Woman Who Is Seen.
It Was Tough Being a Woman in the Theatrical Business in Those Days.
Rhythm Is Born in All of Us. to Be a Desirable Dancing Partner You Don’t Have to Do All the Intricate Fancy Steps That Happen to Be in Vogue. All You Have to Do Is Be a Good Average Dancer and Anybody Who Spends the Time and Effort Can Accomplish This.
I Believe in Living Each Day as It Comes, to the Best of My Ability. When It’s Done, I Put It Away, Remembering That There Will Be a Tomorrow to Take It’s Place. If I Have Any Philosophy, That’s It. to Me It’s Not a Fatalistic Attitude.
I’ve Made Thousands of Mistakes, but They’ve All Been Stepping Stones Toward a Better Concept of Life.
Gossip Is Hardly Uplifting.
You’ve Got to Stand for Something or You’ll Fall for Anything.
Part of the Joy of Dancing Is Conversation. Trouble Is, Some Men Can’t Talk and Dance at the Same Time.
Looking Back at My Life’s Voyage, I Can Only Say That It Has Been a Golden Trip.
Perhaps I Am Old Fashioned, but Black and White Films Still Hold an Affectionate Place in My Heart; They Have an Incomparable Mystique and Mood.
There Are No Small Parts. Only Small Actors.
The Fun, Joy, and Humor Dry up in a Relationship When One of the Partners Is Swimming in Gin. to My Way of Thinking, It Is Selfishness Personified to See Life Through the Bottom of a Liquor Bottle.
On Lew Ayres: I Fell in Love with Lew Ayres’s Image on the Screen and the Dreamy Aura of the Teenager Was Still with Me. I Had Built a Romantic Fantasy About a Man I’d Never Met. I Was Truly Smitten with Lew’s Good Looks and the Smoldering Glances He Gave to the Various Females Playing Opposite Him.
On Her Second Husband, Lew Ayres: I Was Very Much in Love with a Man Who Was, to My Way of Thinking, the Handsomest Leading Man in the Motion Picture World. Lew Was a Natural When It Came to Acting; He Always Had a Sixth Sense About the Right Thing to Do. I Thought His Acting Talents Never Reached Their Full Potential, but in Watching Many of His Performances Through the Years, I’ve Found It Difficult to Fault His Technique or Emotional Impulse. His Intellectual Side Was a Surprise to Me and Frequently Made Me Feel a Mite Inferior. He Knew Something About Everything.

Did you know?

FACTS · 50

Little-known facts about Ginger Rogers — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.

Rogers was Hollywood’s highest-paid star in 1942.
Ginger Rogers abstained from alcohol and had her own ice cream soda fountain.
A keen artist, Rogers painted, sculpted, and sketched in her free time, but she never sold any of her works.
Her first teaming with Fred Astaire, Flying Down to Rio 1933, was her 20th film but only Astaire’s second.
Her great-great-grandfather discovered quinine, a treatment for malaria.
The name Ginger came from a little cousin who could not pronounce Virginia correctly.
When Rogers received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1992, Robyn Smith, widow of Fred Astaire, withheld rights to clips of Rogers’ scenes with Astaire, demanding payment. The Kennedy Center refused, and Rogers received the honor without the retrospective show.
She turned down Donna Reed’s role in It’s a Wonderful Life 1946.
Her salary for 1938 was $219,500 adjusted for 2025 inflation: approximately $5.0 million.
In 1986, Fred Astaire recalled: All the girls I ever danced with thought they couldn’t do it, so they always cried. All except Ginger. No, no, Ginger never cried.
Fred Astaire confided to Raymond Rohauer: Ginger was brilliantly effective. She made everything work fine for her. Actually she made things very fine for both of us and she deserves most of the credit for our success.
She was a near-champion tennis player, a topline shot, and loved fishing.
According to the 1974 book Hollywood-Would, Rogers was taught the Charleston by Eddie Foy Jr. and won the championship of Texas at age 15.
Rogers was a fashion consultant for the J.C. Penney chain from 1972 to 1975.
In 1976, when asked by British TV interviewer Michael Parkinson who his favorite dancing partner was, Astaire answered: Excuse me, I must say Ginger was certainly the one. She was just great.
She was a distant cousin of Lucille Ball, according to Lucie Arnaz.
Rogers was good friends with actress Maureen O’Hara since the late 1930s.
During her last years, she retired in Oregon and bought a ranch in the Medford area. She donated money to the community and funded the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in downtown Medford.
She and her mother Lela E. Rogers are buried side by side at Oakwood Memorial Park, yards away from Fred Astaire’s grave.
She first introduced the song The Continental in The Gay Divorcee 1934, which went on to win the first Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Anne Frank placed a picture of Ginger Rogers on the wall of her bedroom in the Secret Annex during the Nazi occupation.
For the Cheek to Cheek number in Top Hat 1935, Rogers insisted on wearing an elaborate blue feathered dress that shed feathers during filming. Astaire later gave her a gold feather charm to patch up the rift, originating her nickname Feathers.
In a 1991 TV interview, when asked why the union was not known as Ginger and Fred, she replied: It’s a man’s world.
At age 74, she directed her first stage musical, Babes in Arms.
She and Fred Astaire acted in ten movies together: The Barkleys of Broadway 1949, Carefree 1938, Flying Down to Rio 1933, Follow the Fleet 1936, The Gay Divorcee 1934, Roberta 1935, Shall We Dance 1937, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle 1939, Swing Time 1936, and Top Hat 1935.
Her final public appearance was on March 18, 1995, when she received the Women’s International Center Living Legacy Award.
Ginger Rogers Road in Rancho Mirage, California is named after her.
Rogers holds the record for actresses at New York’s Radio City Music Hall with 23 films for a total of 55 weeks.
She was named number 14 actress on the American Film Institute’s list of 50 Greatest Screen Legends.
She made the cover of Life magazine four times: August 22, 1938, December 9, 1940, March 2, 1942, and September 5, 1951.
She turned down lead roles in To Each His Own 1946 and The Snake Pit 1948, both later played by Olivia de Havilland.
She appeared in four films selected for the National Film Registry: 42nd Street 1933, Gold Diggers of 1933 1933, Top Hat 1935, and Swing Time 1936.
She replaced Judy Garland in The Barkleys of Broadway 1949 after Garland was suspended from MGM.
She was badly affected by illness in her last years, suffering two strokes that left her wheelchair-bound and overweight, with a shrunken raspy voice.
She turned down the part of Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday 1940; Rosalind Russell was cast instead.
She was the 16th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won Best Actress for Kitty Foyle at the 13th Academy Awards on February 27, 1941.
The band Blood Red Shoes took their name from the story of Rogers rehearsing so vigorously that her white pumps were soaked red with blood from cuts on her dancing feet.
She appeared in five Oscar Best Picture nominees: 42nd Street 1933, The Gay Divorcee 1934, Top Hat 1935, Stage Door 1937, and Kitty Foyle 1940.
She is interred at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth, California, the same cemetery as Fred Astaire.
She was a sort-of cousin of Rita Hayworth; Rogers’ aunt married Hayworth’s uncle.
The well-known quote attributed to her — My first picture was Kitty Foyle, it was my mother who made those films with Fred Astaire — was fabricated for a 1966 article in Films in Review.
All five of her marriages lasted under a decade; the longest was her last, to William Marshall, which lasted eight years. She never had children.
She left her Academy Award statuette to her personal assistant Roberta Olden.
She was of Scottish, Welsh, English, and Irish ancestry.
Author Graham Greene said he would have liked Rogers to play Aunt Augusta in Travels with My Aunt; the role went to Maggie Smith.
She was asked to replace Judy Garland in both Harlow 1965 and Valley of the Dolls 1967; she turned down Valley of the Dolls due to the script but accepted Harlow.
At age 19, she was chosen to introduce Embraceable You and But Not for Me in George and Ira Gershwin’s Girl Crazy on Broadway, where Ethel Merman introduced I Got Rhythm.
She was a lifelong Republican and a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
She turned down Barbara Stanwyck’s role in Ball of Fire 1941.
She was a conservative Republican and a vocal supporter of the Hollywood blacklist.

You wanted to know.

FAQ · 30

Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Ginger Rogers.

When was Ginger Rogers born?

Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath on July 16, 1911 in Independence, Missouri. She was the daughter of Lela E. Rogers and Eddins McMath. Her mother later married John Rogers, and the family moved to Dallas.
Where was Ginger Rogers born?

Ginger Rogers was born in Independence, Missouri, USA. She was delivered in Independence because her mother wanted to be away from her husband.
When did Ginger Rogers die?

Ginger Rogers died on April 25, 1995 at the age of 83. She passed away in Rancho Mirage, California from congestive heart failure.
How old was Ginger Rogers when she died?

Ginger Rogers was 83 years old at the time of her death. She was born in 1911 and died in 1995.
Where did Ginger Rogers die?

Ginger Rogers died in Rancho Mirage, California, USA. She had retired there in her later years.
How did Ginger Rogers die?

Ginger Rogers died of congestive heart failure. She had been in declining health after suffering two strokes.
What was Ginger Rogers's real name?

Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath. She acquired the nickname Ginger from a cousin who could not pronounce Virginia.
What did Ginger Rogers do for a living?

Ginger Rogers was an actor and soundtrack artist. She is best known for her film roles and her dance partnership with Fred Astaire.
What nationality was Ginger Rogers?

Ginger Rogers was American. She was born in the United States and held American citizenship.
Who were Ginger Rogers's parents?

Ginger Rogers parents were Lela E. Rogers and Eddins McMath. Her mother worked as a scriptwriter and later married John Rogers.
Who was Ginger Rogers married to?

Ginger Rogers was married five times: to Jack Pepper 1929–1931, Lew Ayres 1934–1941, Jack Briggs 1943–1949, Jacques Bergerac 1953–1957, and William Marshall 1961–1969.
Did Ginger Rogers have children?

No, Ginger Rogers did not have children. None of her five marriages produced offspring.
Where did Ginger Rogers go to school?

Ginger Rogers attended Green B. Trimble Technical High School. She did not pursue higher education due to her early career in vaudeville.
What awards did Ginger Rogers win?

Ginger Rogers won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Kitty Foyle 1940. She also received Kennedy Center Honors in 1992, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and won the Amateur Cartoonist Extraordinary Award.
What is Ginger Rogers best known for?

Ginger Rogers is best known for her dance partnership with Fred Astaire in ten films made between 1933 and 1949. She also won an Oscar for Kitty Foyle and introduced the song The Continental.
How tall was Ginger Rogers?

Ginger Rogers was 5 feet 5 inches 1.65 m tall. Her height complemented her dance partner Fred Astaire’s stature.
Why was Ginger Rogers called Feathers?

Ginger Rogers earned the nickname Feathers after an incident during the filming of Top Hat 1935. She wore a feathered blue dress that shed during the Cheek to Cheek dance, and Fred Astaire gave her a gold feather charm as a peace offering.
Did Ginger Rogers use any aliases?

Yes, Ginger Rogers used the alias Ginger professionally. She was also known by her birth name Virginia Katherine McMath early in life.
What was Ginger Rogers's last film appearance?

Ginger Rogers made her last film appearance in Harlow 1965, a biographical drama about Jean Harlow. She later focused on stage and television work before retiring in 1984.
What was the origin of the nickname Feathers?

The nickname Feathers originated during the filming of Top Hat 1935. Rogers’s feathered dress shed feathers during the Cheek to Cheek number, and Astaire gave her a gold feather charm to apologize, leading to the nickname.
What song did Ginger Rogers introduce that won the first Best Original Song Oscar?

Ginger Rogers introduced The Continental in the film The Gay Divorcee 1934. The song won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song.
How many films did Ginger Rogers make with Fred Astaire?

Ginger Rogers made ten films with Fred Astaire. These include classics such as Top Hat 1935, Swing Time 1936, and The Gay Divorcee 1934.
What was Ginger Rogers's first film?

Ginger Rogers first film appearance was a bit part in A Night in a Dormitory 1930. She later appeared in several short films before her breakthrough in Gold Diggers of 1933.
Did Ginger Rogers write an autobiography?

Yes, Ginger Rogers published her autobiography Ginger, My Story in 1991. It covers her life and career, including her partnership with Fred Astaire.
What record does Ginger Rogers hold at Radio City Music Hall?

Ginger Rogers holds the record for actresses at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, with 23 films playing there for a total of 55 weeks. This underscores her popularity in the 1930s and 1940s.
What was Ginger Rogers's political affiliation?

Ginger Rogers was a lifelong Republican and a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was also a vocal supporter of the Hollywood blacklist.
Why did Fred Astaire say Ginger never cried?

Fred Astaire recalled that Ginger Rogers never cried during their dance rehearsals, unlike other partners. He credited her with being brilliantly effective and deserving most of the credit for their success.
What was Ginger Rogers's salary in 1938?

In 1938, Ginger Rogers earned a salary of $219,500. Adjusted for 2025 inflation, that is approximately $5.0 million, reflecting her status as a top star.
How many times did Ginger Rogers marry?

Ginger Rogers married five times. Her husbands were Jack Pepper, Lew Ayres, Jack Briggs, Jacques Bergerac, and William Marshall. None of the marriages lasted longer than eight years.
What films of Ginger Rogers are in the National Film Registry?

Four of Ginger Rogers films are in the National Film Registry: 42nd Street 1933, Gold Diggers of 1933 1933, Top Hat 1935, and Swing Time 1936. They are recognized as culturally significant.

View all 30 questions View fewer questions

Audited & updated by

Sophia has 4 years of editorial experience and a habit of becoming the person any team leans on when they need to know where something stands. At Famousy, she manages the content pipeline, coordinates reviews, and handles the detail work that keeps a large editorial operation from falling apart. She reads a lot of profiles in the process and she's developed a sharp instinct for when something doesn't feel right. She flags it. It usually is.

Published on June 21, 2026

Report an issue

If something on this page looks off, we genuinely want to know about it. Send us a quick email with the celebrity's name, the detail that seems incorrect, and any sources you're referencing. We review every report and update the page as soon as we can.

Report an issue