His Girl Friday: Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant Lucky Partners: Ginger Rogers, William Powell True Confessions: Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 — April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century. During her long career, she made a total of 73 films, and was best known as Fred Astaire’s romantic interest and dancing partner in a series of ten Hollywood musical films that revolutionized the genre. She achieved great success on her own in a variety of film roles and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kitty Foyle (1940). She ranks #14 on the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars list of actress screen legends. Rogers was most famous for her partnership with Fred Astaire. Together, from 1933 to 1939, they made nine musical films at RKO: Flying Down to Rio (1933), The Gay Divorcee (1934), Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Swing Time (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), Carefree (1938), and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) (The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) was produced later at MGM). They revolutionized the Hollywood musical, introducing dance routines of unprecedented elegance and virtuosity, set to songs specially composed for them by the greatest popular song composers of the day. Arlene Croce, Hannah Hyam and John Mueller all consider Rogers to have been Astaire’s finest …