50 Facts About Adele Astaire

In 1932, after a 27-year partnership with her brother, Adele Astaire retired from the stage to marry Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish, the second son of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire.

Adele Astaire divided her time between properties in the United States; Round Hill, Jamaica; and her old home of Lismore Castle, where she spent her summers up until the end of her life.

In 1972, Adele Astaire was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

In 1975, Adele Astaire was inducted into the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List.

Adele Astaire Marie Austerlitz was born on September 10,1896, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Adele Astaire's parents were Johanna "Ann" Geilus, an American-born Lutheran of German descent, and Frederic "Fritz" Austerlitz, an Austrian-born Roman Catholic of Jewish descent.

Adele Astaire's younger brother, Fred Austerlitz, was born three years after her.

Adele Astaire's mother became pregnant shortly before turning 16 years old, and married in 1894 with her father's consent.

The fictional marriage year created a second perception of impropriety when Adele Astaire was born in 1896, so the family later changed references to Adele Astaire's birthdate to 1897 or 1898.

Adele Astaire soon stood out for her natural ability as a dancer, and began making appearances at local recitals and parties.

Adele Astaire, Fred and their mother lived in a boarding house, and the children began attending the Alviene Master School of the Theatre and Academy of Cultural Arts.

Adele and Fred adopted the more American-sounding surname Astaire after trying several variations on the original Austerlitz, and their mother Ann adopted the new surname.

In late 1905, with the assistance of her dance instructor Claude Alvienne, Adele Astaire began a professional vaudeville act with Fred.

Ann Astaire home schooled her children, with the exception of a stint in New Jersey, when Adele and Fred put their performance career on hold and attended regular school for two and half years.

The adolescent Adele Astaire had grown so tall at the time that her smaller, younger brother, still catching up in height, looked awkward dancing with her.

In 1913, Adele Astaire's father introduced the siblings to Aurelio Coccia, an experienced dance instructor and showman.

Adele Astaire taught several new dances to the young Astaires and developed a new, more mature vaudeville routine for them.

Adele Astaire was a "perennial live wire": lively, gregarious, and known for her raw frankness, along with her colorful swearing.

Adele Astaire affectionately nicknamed her younger brother "Moaning Minnie" for his tendency to worry about every possible thing that could go wrong.

Adele Astaire and Fred performed in The Passing Show of 1918, which ran for 125 performances.

Adele Astaire was given an opening solo, singing "I Really Can't Make My Feet Behave".

At last, Adele Astaire and Fred would disappear into the wings.

Adele Astaire came to meet them backstage, urging them to consider taking their performances to London.

In 1922, Adele Astaire and Fred landed their first proper speaking roles in the Broadway musical For Goodness Sake, playing the best friends of the lead characters.

Adele Astaire gave high-spirited performances, delighting audiences with her zany humor; Fred developed his own more understated style in response, dancing with a characteristic "pretence of nonchalance" that he would carry on using throughout his dancing career.

Adele Astaire taught Edward some new tap dance steps, and the pair once danced together at a club.

In early 1924, Adele Astaire received word that her father, Fritz, had died from cancer.

In 1927, Adele Astaire and Fred joined forces with the Gershwin brothers again in New York for their new musical Funny Face.

That summer, Adele Astaire was injured in an accident on Long Island when a motorboat engine exploded, scalding her upper body with burning oil.

Adele Astaire was tired of the relentless travel and rehearsals required of a performer, and had been considering retirement.

In Chicago on March 5,1932, after one final performance with Fred in The Band Wagon, Adele Astaire officially retired from the stage.

Adele Astaire had been performing with her brother for 27 years.

Adele Astaire renewed a friendship with fellow passenger Winston Churchill, whom she had earlier met while performing in England, and the pair enjoyed games of backgammon together during the voyage.

The wedding was briefly postponed when Charles was hospitalized for appendicitis, his ill health exacerbated by heavy drinking, but on May 9,1932, Adele Astaire married Lord Charles Cavendish in the family's private chapel at Chatsworth, receiving the courtesy title of "Lady Charles".

Adele Astaire paid for the installation of several new, modern bathrooms to replace the castle's antiquated facilities, joking that this was her gift to the family in place of the more traditional dowries brought by rich, aristocratic heiresses.

Back in the United States, Fred initially struggled to adjust to his new dancing partners; Adele Astaire sent Fred a teasing telegram right before the first performance of his new show, The Gay Divorce: "Now Minnie, don't forget to moan".

In 1933, Adele Astaire gave birth prematurely to a daughter, who did not survive.

Adele Astaire struggled with periods of depression and an increasingly difficult home life.

In 1936, American film producer David Selznick offered Adele Astaire a supporting role in his film Dark Victory, but she was unsatisfied with the screen tests and preoccupied with caring for her husband, ultimately declining the job offer.

Adele Astaire turned down another film role from Selznick a year later.

In 1942, as Adele Astaire searched for ways to contribute to the wartime effort, she met Colonel Kingman Douglass, the American chief of US Air Force Intelligence who was stationed in London.

In London, Adele Astaire wrote letters home for soldiers, writing and posting up to 130 letters in a single week.

Adele Astaire took shifts at the information desk, danced with soldiers, and helped the men shop for necessities while in London.

Adele Astaire received compassionate leave to attend his funeral at St Carthage's, where Charles was buried near his children.

Adele Astaire was given permission to continue spending three months a year at Lismore Castle, provided that she helped contribute towards the upkeep of the property.

Adele Astaire often entertained family and friends at her Jamaica home.

Adele Astaire then married the Duke of Devonshire's second son and retired to Lismore Castle, leaving a gap that can never be filled.

Adele Astaire died in 1971 due to a brain hemorrhage.

Adele Astaire was known for her robust health, regularly jogging nearly every morning well into her late seventies.

Adele Astaire died on January 25,1981, in Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, Scottsdale, Arizona, after suffering a stroke.