Now and again, an artist comes along that absolutely defines a genre, even decades after their death. While movie musicals have been in decline since the 1950s, Fred Astaire is still hailed as one of the greatest dancers of all time. His routines in popular films have influenced some of the most celebrated dancers and choreographers of the 20th century, but behind the genial grin lies a man that very few people got to know.

At a time when Hollywood’s salaciousness was a well-known fact, those who refused to play the same games always tended to stick out. When most stars were swinging from partner to partner and getting divorced in the blink of an eye, Fred Astaire always appeared to be the same dapper gentleman off-screen as he was on-screen. An intensely private man, however, Astaire had a number of secrets that he tried to bury under the sand.

Though showbusiness didn’t quite run in the family when it came to the Astaire household, Fred’s talent was apparent even as a toddler, when he quickly followed his older sister into dance lessons. The pair began performing together on the vaudeville circuit when they were just children, but as they grew into adulthood, their popularity still didn’t wane. Fred’s talent was only reinforced as she showed just how versatile he could be, even when he was well into middle age.

As a young child, there was a point in time when Astaire did seem reluctant to dance. Facing an economic downturn as a result of his father losing his job, however, Astaire’s mother was determined to cash in on her children’s talent. With that in mind, the family relocated to New York City so Fred and Adele could continue their artistic education. Her hunch that the duo could be used to support the family proved correct, but she didn’t know how true it would be.

The way Astaire tells it, his legacy hinged on Adele. He shared, “The story goes that one time when I had gone with my mother to fetch Adele, I put on a pair of ballet slippers. I found them in a corner while I was dawdling around the place, killing time, waiting for Adele to finish her lesson. I had seen other children walk on their toes, so I put on the slippers and walked on my toes. It was as simple as that.”

For the early part of his career, Astaire frequently played second fiddle to Adele. Even as their routines became more adult, she was always the more praised of the two. Critics believed her to be more talented and more graceful than her silly younger brother. However, it was Fred’s support that always allowed Adele to shine. Even so, towards the end of their collaborating years, some began to suspect that Fred would soon surpass Adele as a dancer.

Fred Astaire and his sister Adele didn’t break up their partnership due to any sort of disagreement or falling out. At the time, it still wasn’t entirely permissible for married women to work, especially not when they married into royalty. Adele Astaire retired from show business when she married Lord Charles Cavendish, leaving Fred to pursue a career of his own. No one expected him to be successful as a solo act, but he would ultimately prove them all wrong.

One signature part of Fred’s act was the frequency with which he wore a tuxedo and top hat, even though the down to earth performer didn’t feel like the look should define him. The reason behind the hat was less about conveying Astaire’s elegance and more about making him look taller when Adele had grown before he did. Even after he hit his full height, however, Astaire was still stuck with the look he would try to ditch for the rest of his life.

As Fred and Adele’s career advanced from vaudeville to Broadway, it helped that one of Fred’s childhood friends was the talented composer George Gershwin. When Gershwin finally hit the big time, he was eager to collaborate with his old friend, writing several shows that were specifically designed to showcase the talents of the Astaire siblings. Though Fred and Adele would debut Funny Face together on Broadway, only Fred would star in the eventual film version of the musical.

While they were a successful Broadway act, Fred and Adele were interested in expanding their performances to film. They managed to earn an audition for Paramount Studios, but the studio executives were unimpressed. The two returned to Broadway until Adele’s retirement. He may have split from his long-time dance partner, but Fred wasn’t ready to leave the race just yet. While he is still remembered as an icon off the screen, it almost didn’t happen.

Fred managed to land another audition for a Hollywood studio, this time at RKO. However, on the day he arrived for his screen test, the studio head, David O’Selznick was not available to watch it. The casting assistant instead left their own opinion in the notes, which Astaire later shared. He said, “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Also dances.” O’Selznick, on the other hand, found Astaire immensely talented, even if he also thought that he was somewhat lacking in looks.

When Fred Astaire first began dancing on film, he was appalled by the cinematographic style. Influenced by the style of Busby Berkeley, the sequences were a series of quick cuts and close-ups. Much like dance is filmed today, it didn’t allow for the dancer’s skill to shine through. Instead, Astaire asked that his numbers be filmed simply in a long shot. The change made the audience feel as if they were watching a live performance until Gene Kelly came and changed the genre again.

As Astaire strove to make his creative mark on the films he was tasked with performing in, he need to break the technique that defined early musical films. Based on the way the dance had been filmed in the past, it often seemed like the camera was doing more work than the dancers, which prompted Astaire to say, “Either I’m gonna dance, or the camera’s gonna dance—and I’m gonna dance.” His insistence on these elements would have a lasting impact.

There were a few elements that were fairly consistent across most of Astaire’s early film work. In fact, one might even be tempted to call it formulaic. That’s because Astaire was such a perfectionist, he thought that it was important to stick to a formula in order to ensure each film’s success. We may think that such an idea makes for boring films, but even if we look at the most popular films franchises of the 21st century, it’s clear Astaire was thinking forward.

In order to truly understand the layout of his films, Astaire used to put it all down on paper. These were never simple outlines or storyboards of the shots. He would plan out every single moment of the film, down to the second between story beats. It’s likely that much of Astaire’s skill for pre-planning was deeply tied to his flair for choreography. He made every step fall exactly where they should, but he’d end up with some unlikely competition.

In more recent years, most movie musicals have reverted back to the pre-Astaire and Kelly styles of filming dance. In Chicago and The Producers, it can be difficult to see what the dancers themselves are actually doing because the camera is doing so much of the work. If there’s one modern filmmaker who still works based off of Fred Astaire’s cinematography principles, it’s Jackie Chan. The martial artist was sure to include Astaire’s signature long shots for his fight sequences.

While Fred Astaire was unambiguously talented, his perfection on film wasn’t achieved on his own. Behind 17 of his most beloved films, Fred had the help of a man named Hermes Pan, who acted almost as his second pair of legs. Some were even prompted to say, “If you saw Fred and Hermes together, you’d swear they were brothers, identical twins.” Not even Fred’s own daughter Ava could always tell the two apart, they were so in sync with one another.

Astaire was still in his early days of Hollywood when the studio introduced him to Ginger Rogers as his new dance partner. They may be one of the most iconic dancing duos in history, but both were reluctant to work with one another. For Fred, he still wasn’t used to dancing with anyone but his sister, but since his solo career was so new, he didn’t want to be associated as half of a pair once more.

It wasn’t easy for Fred to fathom being part of a partnership so quickly after his first dissolved, however, Astaire’s candid reaction was far from the cultivated politeness he usually showed the public. He was quoted as writing, What’s all this talk about me being teamed with Ginger Rogers? I will not have it Leland … I’ve just managed to live down one partnership and I don’t want to be bothered with any more” in a telegram to his agent after hearing the news.

As the on-screen partnership between Fred and Ginger flourish, off-screen they couldn’t have been more cordial with one another. Their dances together were nothing short of magical, which naturally set off whispers among the media. After all, it was a common occurrence that co-stars with chemistry frequently became romantically involved. However, no matter how hard they pushed, no journalist could ever get more out of Fred than that they were simply colleagues. Ginger, on the other hand, had a different story to tell.

For six years, Ginger and Fred worked opposite one another in more than a dozen movies, all the while insisting that there was nothing between them. However, after her death, her personal estate revealed a number of letters that indicated Ginger held a deep-seated love for Fred over the years. One of her relatives also claimed that Ginger shared this secret passion for her dance partner shortly before she died, though, by that time, Fred was long gone.

When Fred and Ginger were first introduced to one another, they were both married. Like most of Hollywood, Ginger would go on to have multiple marriages, all while being in love with Fred. There was one moment when she thought they would finally be able to be together, but it wasn’t in the cards. Ginger hoped that the death of Fred’s wife would free him up, but Ginger would find that he just wasn’t interested in getting married so fast. Impatient, she married someone else.

Fred and Ginger’s public relationship may have been defined by cordiality, however, those who worked with them would have been surprised to hear there was any love between the two. Fred had been known to rage at Ginger behind the scenes, saying things like, “That woman’s impossible! She’s clumsy, lazy and never learns her steps properly…” It was hard to say if they were a pair who secretly loved each other or secretly detested one another.

Unlike his contemporary, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire was known for his agreeable personality. He was nice to a fault, always maintaining the facade in public even when he was trying to hide some deep frustration about Ginger Rogers, for example. Behind the scenes, however, he wasn’t all that different from Gene, even though his temper didn’t quite match up. While even their dance styles were worlds apart, the men were more similar than they would have seemed.

Much like Kelly, Astaire was known for his commitment to perfection. In fact, he was so dedicated to making sure every routine was perfect that in one film, he was told he’d have to reshoot a dance number again. When comparing the original and the reshoot, Fred was so well-rehearsed that every tiny gesture of his was exactly the same as in the original. This high standard was just one of the things that helped earn him a legendary reputation.

For every dance number that Fred performed in a film, he had spent at least six weeks before the shoot rehearsing in order to make sure each step was absolutely perfect. When he one day found Debbie Reynolds crying at MGM studios during filming for Singin’ In the Rain, he called her down about her treatment at Gene Kelly’s hands before taking her to see a rehearsal of his own. Impressed by his commitment to perfection, she realized that Gene wasn’t alone in his standards.

In Fred Astaire’s autobiography, he mostly sticks to charming self-reflection rather than a raw portrayal of his inner psyche. However, he still had a few revelations that both bolstered and subverted his image all at the same time. In one chapter, he divulged that he was tasked with appearing under the influence during a particular movie scene. He may not have considered himself a method actor in the vein of Marlon Brando, but he still decided to have a hearty drink before filming the scene.

If Astaire’s own revelation about using a drink to get prepared for a scene weren’t enough, his costar from Finian’s Rainbow, Petula Clark recently let slip that Astaire may have tried out a little bit of herb in the late 1960s. Sure, he was as straight-laced as his top hat and tails, but even Astaire knew that times were changing. Though many other stars of the era fell victim to substance use, Astaire it would seem managed to keep his relationship purely recreational.

Fred was already in his mid-30s when he first married. He fell in love with a socialite divorcée named Phyllis Potter, who was 25 and already had a child from her previous marriage. However, always earnest and genuine, Astaire was deeply in love with her, despite the disapproval of his mother and sister. Nevertheless, the pair were married for 21 years until Phyllis passed away from cancer at the age of 46. Rather than marrying again, Fred would bide his time.

Fred Astaire would remain unmarried for the next several decades, but at 81 years old, he finally found another woman he wanted to commit himself too. However, she was 45 years younger than he was, but it didn’t seem to matter to the former jockey. Fred loved horses, and couldn’t help but to be charmed by the young rider. They spent seven happy years together before Fred passed away from pneumonia, but Robyn has still been committed to upholding his legacy.

Before Astaire’s death, musical films had nearly disappeared from the landscape of Hollywood. That didn’t mean he felt that no one was breaking new ground in the world of pop culture and dance. In his later years, Astaire shared that one of the current dancers he admired the most was Michael Jackson. There are some who believe that Astaire even viewed Jackson as a sort of successor given that his dance was so tied to his place as a pop culture icon.

Fred Astaire’s ultimate retirement took some time to truly settle in. Even well into his twilight years, he had trouble staying away from the cameras. While his later career was decidedly different than the films of his first years in Hollywood, he took out his signature look for one last appearance. At the request of his grandchildren, Astaire’s last performance was in Battlestar Galactica, where he managed to work in the ascot and tailcoat that he was once famous for.

If there’s one notable thing about Fred’s legacy, it’s that he’s never had a biopic made about him. While many other stars from his era have also been absent as the focus of biographical movies, Astaire’s will was unique in that it stipulated that a movie was never made about his life. He didn’t like the idea of being celebrated in such a way, and his widow has been sure to fight companies that so much as use old footage of the dancer.

To some, it may seem like Margot Robbie just showed up all of a sudden to claim her place in Hollywood, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The young Australian actress has worked her way up from B-movies to television and finally up to Hollywood star. Coming from humble roots and finding herself as one of the world’s highest-paid actresses must feel really good. After all, she worked hard to get where she is, just check out the path she took below.

Though you may not know it from all her fantastic accent work, Margot hails from Down Under. Born and raised on the Gold Coast of Queensland in Australia, she spent her youth bouncing between staying with her grandparents on their farm to living in the city with her mom.

One of four children, Margot had to work hard her whole life, which is why so many people admire her amazing work ethic and dedication.

Margot had many dreams as a young girl, but one of them didn’t seem to be acting according to an interview she gave. She still wanted to be an entrepreneur, just with a bit of a childlike twist.

At one point, she considered becoming a hotel mogul while moonlighting as a magician. Clearly, she was always destined to be a businesswoman. In that same interview, she also said that if she ever leaves Hollywood, she still would want to work in film, just not in front of the camera.

Margot’s teen years must have been fun for her mom, as the self-proclaimed metal-head opted to change her look. Margot discussed this on one of the late-night talks shows she visited while doing press for a movie.

At 14, she got into metal and then cut her hair with a razor and dyed it black. After that, she would only wear band tees and listen to the hardest metal possible.

Like every good teen that just graduated from high school, Margot went off to college. She got accepted to Somerset College, where she would go on to study drama.

While at college, she also began to get roles in several independent films and, finally, launched her career on an Australian soap opera. Her faculty still remember her well, and she is quite the legend among current students as well.

While working her way up the film ladder and during her entire high school career, Margot worked hard to help provide for her family. Young Margot held down three jobs at one point, including one making foot-long subs for the fast food chain, Subway.

While doing this, she cleaned houses and tended bars, but those wouldn’t be her only professions before her high school years were over. She clearly knows how to work hard for her money.

Though her big break came in 2008 with her role in an Australian soap opera, her first credit actually was a movie in 2007. Margot played the teen lead in the Australian B-movie thriller, I.C.U.

The movie was billed as Rear Window for the modern age, though we’re not sure it quite hit the mark. In this film, Margot was only 17, and she sported her natural hair color, but even with this poorly written script, you could still see she had talent.

Margot loves to get out in the water during her downtime, no matter where she is, and catch some waves. She has always been an avid surfer even back into her Neighbors days. She is often caught by the paparazzi at the beach.

In an interview, Margot once said that there was nothing better for her mental clarity and health than getting up to catch some good swells early in the morning.

In 2008, Margot was cast in a guest role on the Australian soap opera Neighbors. Scheduled for just a few episodes, the audience really took to her and her character, and soon that few episode stint turned into a contracted part.

The audience clearly saw what we all see; that Margot has a real charm and charisma, and because of this, she got the biggest break of her career to this point.

In the U.S., there are many great stars that we love to watch on the big screen that got their start in soap operas, and in Australia, it seems to be no different.

After her guest role was extended, Margot would continue to portray the trials and tribulations of Donna Freedman for the next three years. She would leave the role to take her chances in Hollywood, and boy are we glad she did.

While playing Donna Freedman, Margot continued working on her craft. Hiring coaches and trying to perfect her American accent, she knew where her destiny laid. Finally, in 2011 she moved to the U.S. and began auditioning for roles.

It didn’t take long for executives at one of the major studios to see her potential and offer a role in a new show for the fall season. That very same year, her big break would land her on yet another television show.

That same year she landed her big break in the U.S. on a television show for A.B.C. – Pan Am. The show took place in the ’60s and followed pilots and flight attendants throughout their lives. Margot was paired with an outstanding cast.

Unfortunately, the concept just didn’t work, and the series only lasted one season. However, it still allowed Margot to get some serious exposure and her foot in the door in Hollywood.

One of her many loves is hockey. Not only did she play field hockey back in Australia, but she played a little in the States as well. Though not the best player, according to her, she still loved the game.

More often than not, you can see her donning a Rangers jersey and enjoying the game with a friend. Whether she’s away or in New York, it looks like the New York team has a pretty devout fan.

Before she got her big break, the actress showed her love for another actor, James Franco. In fact, she decided to go dressed up as one of his characters for Halloween. Trying to get his character from Spring Breakers right, she even reached out to the acclaimed actor.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t yet made her mark, so he wasn’t sure who she was. Still, she won her local costume contest, so she must have done something right.

In 2013, Margot would get the role that would launch her onto the spotlight and open up the gate for many other opportunities. This movie would have her sharing the screen with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill.

Not only did she get to work with these great actors, but behind the camera was Martin Scorsese. She played Leo’s girlfriend and got a lot of great reviews doing so. It seemed like the sky was the limit after this role.

This role wouldn’t only get her attention from the critics, but would also earn her multiple awards nominations. She won an Empire Award and was nominated for not only an MTV Movie Award but also a BAFTA.

The decision-makers on the panels for these awards were blown away, and the studios when she first arrived could clearly see that she had the “It” factor. They were right.

Many actors have portrayed multiple superheroes. In an age where it means you have made it when you get cast in one of these blockbusters, it should come as no surprise that Margot almost played multiple heroes.

We all know her for her infamous portrayal of the anti-hero Harley Quinn. However, she could have also been the Invisible Woman in the latest rendition of Fantastic Four. That would have made for a different movie for sure.

In 2014, she got cast in one of her lesser-known movies, Suite Francaise. Though the movie didn’t gain much acclaim for her, she found something better on the film’s set. Margot has described her dream man in interviews, and on this set, she found hers.

Hired to be the assistant director, Tom Ackerley found his soulmate too. They dated for a while as her star began to rise to new heights.

Her next big movie would happen two years after The Wolf of Wall Street. Cast alongside another top tier actor, Will Smith, Margot got cast as a pickpocket in the movie, Focus. A method actor of sorts, Margot took the time to learn the trade of her character.

She has never used the skill but learning it taught her to always stay alert. But when it came to her portrayal, she definitely kept the critics alert, and they raved about her performance once again.

Though Focus got quite a bit of acclaim, her next film was released to a bit less fanfare. The Legend of Tarzan was a new interpretation of the classic story of the orphan raised by gorillas.

The movie required a lot of physical endurance, and the producers even wanted Margot to lose a little weight. Margot would fight back and eventually win them over to her side. The movie may not have gone her way, but the negotiations for this certainly did.

Margot seems to be just a regular everyday gal who enjoys things that we all love. She loves hockey, off-roading with four-wheelers, and having a few cold ones with her friends.

In an interview during her press junket for Tarzan, she admitted to a reporter from People that she is pretty fast at chugging a few brewskis with her gang. She likes to work hard and play hard, which gives her a down-to-earth vibe.

After meeting on the set of Suite Francaise, she and her director beau dated for almost two years, finally tying the knot in 2016, in a very beautiful yet private ceremony held in Byron Bay located in New South Wales, Australia.

It was especially beautiful since they chose to do it in the winter months, when there would be some fresh snow on the ground outside the building.

Suicide Squad may well be her biggest film yet. Not only did it allow her to film as a spin-off, but it also introduced her to the comic book fans across the globe.

Playing the iconic Harley Quinn, this was a role that many of those fans had waited years to see. Good thing she did it justice, and because the 2016 film did so well, there will be a sequel coming very soon.

While filming Suicide Squad, Margot also toyed with the idea of changing her profession – she bought a tattoo gun online. She got really interested and began practicing with friends and even the crew. She even talked to the director, David Ayer, into letting her practice on him.

However, the career did not pan out, and just four years later, she announced her retirement on a British talk show. Now those she tattooed have one of a kind pieces.

If you follow the trade, then you have probably heard about Jared Leto’s on-set pranks during the filming of Suicide Squad. Margot was one of the recipients of one of these pranks. One of his favorites was to give really bizarre gifts, like the rat he gave Margot.

This was a little much at first, but eventually, Margot grew to love her gift. Ultimately, though, she had to give up the rat who found a home with director Guillermo del Toro.

Margot is big on the environment. While filming Suicide Squad, she got to combine her love for driving with that passion for the environment. It was at this time when she was approached by Nissan and asked to be their electric vehicle ambassador.

The campaign had her film a whole bunch of commercials promoting the use of the Nissan electric vehicle. One of these even had Margot hitting the race track, which with her love of driving, we think may have been her favorite one.

Tackling a true story is difficult, especially one as iconic and pop culture-centric as Tonya Harding. Margot wanted to challenge herself, so not only did she star in the movie, but she chose to produce it as well.

She trained extensively to be able to deliver a realistic experience. In the end, I, Tonya was received with acclaim, and the story of Tonya Harding became fresh in the mind of a new generation.

Though Margot trained to be able to do some of the skating in the movie I, Tonya, there are just some moves that take years to learn how to do properly. In order to make sure the moves looked right, professional skaters were brought on set.

But it certainly looked like she did all the moves, right? Well, that’s thanks to some amazing VFX magic. Using a blue screen to capture Margot as she ran through the motions, they then took her face and slapped it on the skater’s face.

After the success of I, Tonya, Margot felt that she could fulfill one of her promises to herself. She had always admired Quentin Tarantino and vowed early on that once she made it, she would write to him and express her desire to work with him.

It just so happened that Tarantino’s new film was looking for a female lead that Margot would be perfect for. And so they worked out the details so that Margot would play Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Set in 1969 Hollywood, the movie has Margot reuniting with her Wolf of Wall Street co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio. Though there are many rumors about how Margot got the job, Tarantino said the role was always intended for her.

Capturing the essence of the tragic life of Sharon Tate was extremely hard, but Margot did an excellent job and received quite a bit of praise for the role. She continues to amaze us.

There are lists on lists in Hollywood, but one of the most prestigious as a female actor is the highest-paid one released by Forbes. In 2019, just six years after her first big break, Margot found her way onto this list.

She was listed at number eight of the top 10 and found herself among names like Scarlett Johansson and Charlize Theron. Not too shabby for a farm girl from Australia.

The next portrayal of the psychotic anti-hero Harley Quinn would find the set filled with more than one Robbie. In fact, her brother, who is a Hollywood stuntman, would be hired to do many of the stunts.

This was great for the two of them as they got to spend a little more time together. Plus, it kept up Lachlan Robbie’s track record of working on D.C. projects. He also did some work on Aquaman and Black Lightning.

In the wake of the major backlash from the Fox harassment scandals, there was sure to be a book and film made about them. With her devoted feminist stance, it seemed right that Margot take a role in the film.

Bombshell was the story of Megyn Kelly and the goings-on behind the doors at Fox News. Like the rest of the cast, Margot definitely did her part in making the movie as well-received as it was.

With her star and reputation rising, Margot wanted to test her hand at pitching a movie, and she knew just the project she wanted to do. So she put her producer skills to work and pitched Birds of Prey.

With Harley Quinn being such a big hit with moviegoers, it was almost a shoo-in that the studio would greenlight her prospective project. And they did just that.

So would a movie that was fronted by an all-female cast work in the comic book universe? Margot certainly thought so, which is why she worked so hard to get the project to greenlight.

Unfortunately, the movie didn’t do quite as well as the studio thought it would. Even still, the film was a big hit with comic book fans, and it only served to make them clamor for more Harley.

In 2017, Margot partnered with a few different people and built a production company. LuckyChap Entertainment has been responsible for a lot of great pictures. The most successful project they have produced was I, Tonya.

Though they have worked on several other movies as well as the Hulu original television show, Dollface, it seems like Margot is looking to expand her empire. We look forward to seeing what future projects she decides to bring to the screen.

In a very revealing interview on a podcast, Margot discussed one of her very private secrets. Margot likes to sleep with a stuffed bunny. It may sound strange to some, but that little stuffy has been with her since she was a baby.

Apparently, her husband finds it a bit ridiculous and tries to get rid of it once she is asleep. It must not work because she still hangs on to it every night.

2019 seemed to be the year of revealing interviews for Margot. In one of her many interviews with online publications, she revealed her biggest inspiration when it comes to other actresses.

She really idolizes Cate Blanchett. She admires that Cate manages her personal life and professional life separately and stays out of the limelight unless she wants. It doesn’t hurt that Cate is super talented. She’s a pretty good actress to aspire to be like, we think.

Margot has tied herself to many great causes that help improve the climate and help save the environment. One of her biggest is the Australian division of Greenpeace. She tries to live her life in a meaningful and mindful way.

She even tries to do a day or two of meatless meals, but this is a lot when you love a good steak. At least she tries. It is always nice when someone with her clout really cares about a cause, and that makes her even more endearing.

So what’s next for Margot? Well, if all goes as planned, it will be another foray into the wacky world of Harley Quinn with Suicide Squad 2. The movie is set to begin production in 2021, according to sources.

With the state of things with the current pandemic, who knows when the movie will actually make it to theaters? Whenever that is, those that love her character and the world that D.C. has crafted for her will be eagerly awaiting, and we are sure that Margot will deliver an outstanding performance.