- Born
- Birth nameConstance Ann Miller
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- Robyn Smith was born Constance Ann Miller. Her biological father deserted her and her mother at her birth. Her mother was 17 when she was born. Her mother was declared mentally unstable and Melody was placed in a foster home. She was adopted by a family surnamed Smith. After a grueling court battle, she was returned to her birth mother. When her mother's mental illness reappeared, she was placed back in the care of her adoptive family. She became a jockey in 1969, winning the Paumonok Handicap at Aqueduct in 1973 riding North Sea. She became the first woman to win a major race in the USA. At 5' 7", she was taller and heavier than most jockeys. She retired from racing in 1980. That same year, she married former actor and famed dancer extraordinaire Fred Astaire. She was 45 years his junior. She remained married to Astaire until his death in 1987.- IMDb Mini Biography By: slvrfox
- SpouseFred Astaire(June 27, 1980 - June 22, 1987) (his death)
- Female jockey. Won her first career race at Ferndale on August 2, 1969.
- Stepmother of Fred Astaire Jr. and Ava Astaire-McKenzie.
- When Ginger Rogers received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1992, Robyn Smith, widow of Fred Astaire, withheld all rights to clips of Rogers' scenes with Astaire, demanding payment. The Kennedy Center refused and Rogers received her honor without a video display of the retrospectives in question.
- Sister-in-law of Adele Astaire.
- Now don't get the wrong impression. I'm not a recluse or anything. All those parties in Hollywood, I liked them well enough, I just had enough of that. Besides, it's just that I don't care if I'm seen. I'm not really impressed by anything. I mean that. Nothing impresses me. I guess I'm an iconoclast. I guess I'm the biggest iconoclast I know.
- What the hell do I have to do? Eighteen percent I'm winning. Eighteen percent, and I don't have one ride. Ah, I should just forget about it and go shopping or something. There's jockeys who just love it when they can get a day off. But I don't have any ambition to do anything else. It's my whole life. I never knew it would be so satisfying to win. I love horses and speed, and I've always liked competition, but I never knew it would be so satisfying to win. Nothing makes me happier. I mean, some man could buy me something, anything, and it wouldn't mean as much to me as winning a race. I just love to win. It satisfies me mentally. If I don't win, I get very depressed.
- [on starting out as an exercise girl] The horses weren't so scared, but boy, I was. Invariably, they'd run away with me, but it was dark in the morning that time of the year and [trainer Bruce] Headley couldn't see. One day, when it got lighter in the morning, he said, 'Gee, you don't gallop real good, do you?'
- I'm going to be highly successful, so there'll be a much more interesting life for them to write about 10 years from now. But the main thing is I just don't want to do it, so I'm not going to. I just want to ride.
- All my life people have said I'm not very friendly. But listen, I'm friendly with some people. I have real friends. I'm moody, but if I'm bitchy, I get it right out of my system.
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