<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Virginia "Ginny" Heinlein (April 22, 1916 – January 18, 2003) was the third wife of science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein. She nursed him through numerous bouts of ill health, was the first reader and critic on all of his work, and served as the inspiration for his many redheaded female protagonists.

Biography

Virginia Doris Gerstenfeld was born in Brooklyn, New York and served as a Lieutenant in the WAVES during World War II. She met Robert Heinlein when both worked at the Naval Air Experimental Station in Philadelphia from 1942 to 1945. After the war, she moved to Los Angeles to complete her degrees. She was an organic chemist and a biochemist, and had a second degree in psychology, and spoke seven languages. Isaac Asimov described her as a "rock-ribbed far-right conservative." One year after his divorce from Leslyn MacDonald, Robert and Ginny were married in New Mexico on October 21, 1948. The Heinleins had no children.

Military Career

Virginia Heinlein served on active duty from 1943 to 1946, then served in the Navy Reserves from 1946 to 1955.

Later Life

After Robert Heinlein's death, she organized and was active in The Heinlein Society, an organization to promote his works and ideals. She edited and provided interstitial material for Grumbles from the Grave, a collection of her husband's correspondence. She died in Florida, while hospitalized for a broken hip.