Ginger Rogers Convention. A Republican and a devout Christian Scientist, Rogers was married five times, with all of her marriages ending in divorce; she had no children. During her long career, Rogers made 73 films, and her musical films with Fred 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. Virginia Katherine McMath was born on July 16, 1911, in Independence, Missouri, the only child of Lela
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