Roxie Hart

Roxie Hart is a fictional character, a showgirl accused of murder. Her husband is Amos Hart who tries to help her from going to jail, but fails. She first appeared in the 1926 play "Chicago" written by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins was inspired by the real-life unrelated 1924 murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, which she covered for the "Chicago Tribune". Annan was the basis for Roxie. Both women were acquitted.

The play made it to Broadway in 1926 and ran for 172 performances. Gaertner attended the Chicago opening. Its adaptations include:
*"Chicago", a 1927 silent film, with Phyllis Haver playing Roxie
*"Roxie Hart", a 1942 movie starring Ginger Rogers as Roxie
*"Chicago", a 1975 stage musical and its various revivals
*"Chicago", a 2002 musical film version starring Renée Zellweger as Roxie, Catherine Zeta-Jones as rival Velma Kelly, and Richard Gere as defense attorney Billy Flynn