Born Frances Octavia Smith in Uvalde, Texas, Evans found work as a teenager singing on Memphis radio stations. She was given a contract with 20th Century Fox but later Republic Pictures teamed her with Roy Rogers. She married Rogers in 1944 and made 26 western movies with her husband as well as starring in their own radio and television series. An author musical entertainer and movie star, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth.