Ginger Rogers remains. Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is known for her starring role in "Kitty Foyle" (1940), but is best remembered for performing in RKO's musical films (partnered with Fred Astaire) on stage, radio and television, throughout much of the 20th century. Born in Independence, Missouri, and raised in Kansas City, Rogers and her family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, when she was nine years old. After winning a 1925 Charleston dance contest that launched a successful vaudeville career, she gained recognition as
Adele Astaire and Fred was five, a teacher's suggestion that the two children might have a stage career if trained for it prompted the family to move from Omaha to New York, though the father returned to Omaha to work. Adele, Fred and their mother lived in a boardinghouse, and the children began attending the Alviene Master School of the Theatre and Academy of Cultural Arts. They adopted the more American-sounding name 'Astaire' after trying several variations on the original family surname. In 1905, Adele Astaire began a successful vaudeville act with Fred. Claude Alvienne helped them create a brother and sister