- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAdele Marie Austerlitz
- Adele and her brother Fred were the toast of Broadway in the 1920s and early thirties with such shows as Lady be Good and Funny Face. Many thought Adele was the greater entertainer of the pair, comparing her to Fanny Brice and Imogene Coca. Fred was far more serious about his craft and would rehearse tirelessly while his sister would refer to him as "Moaning Minnie" because he was seldom satisfied. After Adele married an English lord in 1932, Fred did one more show without her (The Gay Divorcee) then headed for Hollywood to begin his legendary career. One can't help wondering whether his stardom would have been as great without the early success of his partnership with Adele.
- IMDb mini biography by: just1Hitch
- SpousesKingman Douglass(April 29, 1947 - October 8, 1971) (his death)Charles Cavendish(May 9, 1932 - March 23, 1944) (his death, 3 children)
- RelativesFred Astaire(Sibling)
- She retired from performing in 1932 to marry Lord Charles Cavendish, with whom she had three children: an unnamed daughter, who died the day she was born on October 8, 1933; and unnamed twin sons, who both died within hours of their birth in 1935. After being widowed, she remarried, in 1947, to financier Kingman Douglass, who died in 1971.
- Sister and original dancing partner of Fred Astaire, the siblings appeared in vaudeville headliners as kids, and later in Broadway musicals. They were inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1971.
- Second husband, the financier Kingman Douglass, was a former director of the CIA.
- Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 20-22. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.
- Aunt of Fred Astaire Jr. and Ava Astaire-McKenzie.
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