Frances Gershwin

Who was Frances Gershwin?

Frances "Frankie" Gershwin, was an American singer.

She was born in Manhattan, New York, the younger sister of George, Ira and Arthur Gershwin. She was the first of the Gershwin family to perform as a child, and she brought home a good sum of money for the time.

She married Leopold Godowsky, Jr. co-inventor of Kodachrome color photography. Godowsky was also first violinist with the Los Angeles and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras and performed with his father, the world-renowned pianist Leopold Godowsky.

Frances and Leopold had four children; listed in order from oldest to youngest they are: Alexis Gershwin, Leopold Godowsky III, Georgia Keidan and Nadia Natali. All four children have been involved in the performing and fine arts.

The film Rhapsody in Blue came out in 1945, but Frankie and her third brother Arthur were not included in this semi-fictionalized version of George's life.

Frances traveled to Europe with her brother George and performed at parties with him. She also performed briefly on Broadway. After she married, she continued her artistic activities, at one point winning a French painting award. In her later years, she returned to singing again and recorded the album "For George And Ira" in 1973.