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Who was Rita Hayworth?
Rita Hayworth was one of the most iconic American actress and dancer. An epitome and glamarous star who rose to international fame during the 1940s and 1950s as one of the top stars of Hollywood. She was known for her beauty, talent, and charismatic and energtic performance on-screen. Her career spans more than thirty years and appeared in 61 films. She was often referred to as the “Love Goddess” as a symbol of romance for her iconic roles, sensuality and glamour, romantic screen presence, cultural impact and personal charisma during her time in Hollywood.
She starred in several iconic films, including “Gilda” (1946), “Cover Girl” (1944), “You Were Never Lovelier” (1942), and “The Lady from Shanghai” (1947). Hayworth’s beauty, talent and on-screen charisma captivated audiences making her one of the top movie box-office attractions in the world for three consecutive years, starting in 1941. She made a lasting legacy of both as Hollywood icons and masters of the musical genre.
Birthday and Early Life of Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was born on october 17, 1918 to Eduardo Cansino and Volga Hayworth in Brooklyn, New York city as Margita Carmen Cansino. Her father was a professional dancer and her mother was an American of Irish and English ancestry. Her mother was a theatrical performer.
She had two siblings- Esuardo Cansin Jr.(1919) and Vernon Cansino.R (1922). Eduardo Jr. also pursued a career in entertainment working as a dancer and actor. Her paternal grandfather was a famous Spanish dancer. She was given dance lessons by her father from a very young age. She changed her name when she became a dancer (12 years old). However she retain her name in her early movies (10 movies).
Formal education was limited as she pursued a cereer in entertainment from a young age. She received some schooling but did not receive college. She received schooling at Hamilton High in Los Angeles upto ix standard. She never graduated from high school.
Physical Appearance: Height-Weight-Zodiac sign
| Height | 5 feet 6 inches tall (168 cm). |
| Weight | (53.5 kg) during her prime. |
| Eye colour | Brown |
| Hair colour | Brunette (Dark Brown) |
| Zodiac sign | Libra |
| Nationality | American |
Pictures of Rita Hayworth
Acting career
At the age of four she was appeared in “The Greenwich Village Follies” under Broadway production. She also featured in a small role at the age of eight in 1926 in a short film ” La Fiesta” under Warner Bros. She was a talented dancer and her father wanted her to be a great dancer. She was partnered with her own father in an act. When she was sixteen, she was spotted by a producer of Fox Film Company while she was performing in clubs in Tinjuana and Agua Caliente in Mexico. She signed a contract with Fox company.
Her debut film was “Under the Pampas Moon” in 1935. After this she appeared in many small roles such as “Cruz Diablo” (1934), ” In Caliente” (1935) and “Under the Pampas Moon”(1935).
After Fox Company merged with 20-th Century, her contact with the Fox ended. She was left without any major work. After this she signed a seven with Harry Cohn who was the head of columbian pictures. At that time she was doing low-budget movies in Columbian Pictures. Her career turned when she met her first husband Edward C. Judson and married in 1937. Her first husband and Cohn boost the career of Rita.
Rita Cansino to Rita Hayworth
Rita’s name had been changed to Rita Hayworth from Rita Cansino by Edward C. Judson. Haworth was the maiden name of her mother and later added a “y” to get more suitable in pronounciation. According to the advice of Edward, her physical appearance was also changed particularly her hair. Her natural hair colour was dark brown. To crwate her signature look, her hair was dyed auburn and underwent a cosmetic procedure to raise her hairline so as to give her forhead a more pronounced.
In 1939 ” Angels Have Wings” had came in which Hayworth ws paired opposite Cary Grant . Her role in the film was small but umportant. In 1940 she was featured in ” Music in My Heart”, ” The Lady in Question” and ” Angels Have Broadways”. For the first time she ws featured in Life Magazine cover stort in 1940.
1941 was the turning point of her career. Many films came in this year which include “The Strawberry Blonde” opposite James Cagney; “Blood and Sand” and “You’ll Never Get Rich”. Blood and Sand cemented her as a sex symbol where she portrayed a sultry and seductive carmen casted opposite Tyrone Power.
She achieved full stardom by showing her dancing skills in You”l Never Get Rich as a dancer. It was published in the Time Magazine cover. All the three of Hayworth that came in 1942 were also all box-office hit. That include”My Gal Sal,” “Tales of Manhattand,” and ” You Were Never Lovelier”. She played the role of Sally Elliot, a singer and dancer, displaying her beauty and talent. It became the inspiration for songwriter Paul Dresser.
So in the early 1940s Hayworth’s career boom and reached its zenith. She became one of Hollywood’s most glamarous star. She was called ” The Great American Love Goddess”.
“Cover Girl” a technicolour musical film that came in 1944 was considered one her most iconic role. In this film she displayed her beauty and talent as a dancer and actress. This film made her the top-billing actress and bombshell of the 1940s. She was even compared to an atomoc bomb that was to be tested in the Pacific Ocean.
Under Columbian pictures, she featured in the Technicolour films such as ” Tonight and Every Night” in 1945 and “Down to Earth” in 1947. Hayworth’s portrayal of Gilda in the 1946 film of the same name was iconic making Gilda one of her most memorable roles. Gilda remains a classic example of film noir in the Hollywood.
In the 1950s she still dominated the Hollywood by her performance even though she faced personal challenges including tumultuous marriages and struggles with alcoholism. She starred in the classic film noir “Asphalt Jungle ” (1950). Her other notable films of this period include ”Affair in Trinidad” (1952), ”Salome” and ”Miss Sadie Thompson” (1953), ”Fire Down Below” (1957).
” The Lady from Shanghai”(1957), a classic film noir, was directed by her then-husband Orson Welles where she was portrayed in a complex role as a femme fatale. This film is remembered for the famous “hall of mirrors” sequence.
As she grew older her role was shited to mature roles such as in 1958 movie ” Seperate Tables” and in 1959 “They came to Cordura”. She also appeared in many minor roles in her later career, most of them were made in Europe.
Hayworth’s career began to decline in the 1960s as compared to her peak career in the 1940s and 1950s. Some of this movies of this period were ”The Story on Page One” (1960), “The Happy Thieves” (1961), “Circus World” (1964), “The Money Trap”(1965), ‘The Poppy Is Also a Flower”(1966) and “The Naked Zoo” (1967).
In the she tried a chance in stage career but could not get success because she frequently forget her lines. Her final film appearance was in the 1972 British-American horror film “The Wrath of God”. After this film, she retired from acting due to her declining health, including struggles with Alzheimer’s disease.
Spouses of Rita Hayworth:
How many times Rita Hayworth married?
The legendary actress married five times and all ended in divorces.
- First Husband of Rita Hayworth- Edward C. Judson
Rita married Edward, a bussinessman, in 1937 at Las Vegas. At that time she was only 18 years old and Edward was very much senior to her. Edward later became manager of Rita. He promote Rita to become a star in Hollywood and their relationship was marked by their collaborations. However their raltionships could not last long as there was conflicting personal and professional interests. Besides Rita’s growing popularity and fame in Hollywood may contributed to the strain on their marriage. Rita filed for divorce on February 24, 1942 and got finalised on December 1942.
- Second Husband of Rita Hayworth- Orson Welles
Rita Hayworth’s second marriage was to Orson Welles who was a legendary director and actor of Hollywood. They got married on September 7, 1943. The couple had a lovely daughter named Rebecca inn 1944. However within two years Orson began dating other women. During this time, Rita also had met eith Prince Aly Khan, her future husband, before her divorce to Orson.
She had a secret romantic affair with Aly. Hayworth filed for divorce while Mr. Orson was directing Hayworth’s famous movie “The Lady from Shanghai”. Their marriage cannot kept last long. As per Hayworth, Orson did not want a home and to have freedom in his way of life. On the other hand Hayworth wanted a settle life. They divorced on November 10, 1947.
- Third Husband of Rita Hayworth- Prince Aly Khan
Prince Aly khan was a playboy and son of the spiritual leader of Ismaili sect and Sultan of Mohommed Shah, Aga khan III. They married on May 27, 1949 and she left the Hollywood. The pair had a daughter, Yasmin Khan, born on December 28, 1949. However their relationship could not stay long. Aly was seen other women. There were also cultural differences and public scrutiny.
She filed for divorce on September 2, 1951 for extreme cruel nature of Aly khan. It is said that there was also fierce custoday battle of their daughter. Aly wanted to raise her daughter as Muslim and Hayworth wanted her daughter to be christian. Aly offered a huge amount ($ 1million) if she allowed to raise his daughter as a Muslim from the age of seven and allowed her to be with him for two to three months each year. Their divorced was finalised on January 26, 1953.
- Fourth Husband of Rita Hayworth- Dick Haymes
Dick Haymes was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor. When Hayworth met Dick, he was already married two times. Shortly after Hayworth’s divorce from Aly khan, Hayworth married Dick on september 24, 1953 at Las Vegas. However their marriage also faced various challenges financial difficulties because of his previous two wives divorces, legal troubles because he did not has solid of American citizenship and waning singer career.
It is said Hayworth paid all the debts after Dick was arrested in California. Hayworth was short of money and their relationship also began faded. Their marriage lasted only for two years after Dick struck Hayworth on her face. They divorced on December 12, 1955.
- Fifth Husband of Rita Hayworth- James Hill
Hayworth’s final marriage was with James Hill. He was a famous film producer.He produced”Seperate Tables” in 1958, one of the successful film of Hayworth. They married on February 2, 1958. Their marriage was lasted obly for about three years. James wanted to continue acting but Hayworth wanted them both to retire from acting. So Hayworth filed for divorce on september 1, 1961 for mental torture and difference in opinion.
Networth of Rita Hayworth:
Rita Hayworth was a popular legendary actress, singer and dancer. She was one of the highest paid actress of 1940s and 1950s. Besides his third husband was a prince. So she was a rich actress. She had a networth of $10 million at the time of her death.
Death-
Rita Hayworth was diagnosed from Alzheimer’s in the 1980’s resulting on loss of memory. She was also an alcoholic and her drinking problems becomes severe after her two brothers died in the same year 1074. In 1981 she was under the legal care of her daughter Yasmin Khan as Hayworth had reduced into a state of helplessness. She died on May 14, 1987, in New York City, United States at the age of 68 due to chronic Alzeheimer. Funeral service was held in the Beverly Hills, California.
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