ROOTS of Country Music

Dale Evans

(1912–2001)

Singing cowgirl of movies, radio and TV

American leading lady of musical westerns of the 1940s. Born Frances Octavia Smith in Uvalde, Texas. She was raised in Texas and Arkansas. Married at 14 and a mother at 15, she was divorced at 17 (some sources say widowed). Intent on a singing career, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and worked in an insurance company while taking occasional radio singing jobs. Later, married singing cowboy and film actor, Roy Rogers.