Rita Hayworth
“The Love Goddess of the 1940s, whose dance and dazzle made her the era's great glamour icon.”
Rita Hayworth shot to stardom in 1941 when 'Life' magazine's pin-up photograph and her dancing in films like 'Blood and Sand' made her America's 'Love Goddess.' Her sultry title role in 'Gilda' (1946) cemented her as one of Hollywood's defining glamour icons.
The Dancing Cansinos
Born Margarita Cansino to a Spanish dancer father, she performed professionally as a teenager in her family's dance act. Columbia Pictures reshaped her into Rita Hayworth, a glamorous redhead destined to become the studio's brightest star.
Hollywood's Love Goddess
A 1941 'Life' pin-up made her a World War II favorite, and 'Gilda' (1946) sealed her as the era's ultimate femme fatale. A gifted dancer, she partnered Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in lavish Technicolor musicals.
Glamour and Heartbreak
Behind the screen image lay five marriages, including to Orson Welles and Prince Aly Khan, and a difficult private life. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1980, her decline helped bring the disease into public awareness before her death in 1987.
Career Timeline
- 1918Born Margarita Carmen Cansino in New York City
- 1937Signs with Columbia; renamed Rita Hayworth
- 1939Breakthrough in 'Only Angels Have Wings'
- 1941Iconic 'Life' magazine pin-up makes her a star
- 1941Dances with Fred Astaire in 'You'll Never Get Rich'
- 1944Top Columbia star with Technicolor 'Cover Girl'
- 1946Defines the femme fatale in 'Gilda'
- 1947Stars in Welles' 'The Lady from Shanghai'
- 1949Marries Prince Aly Khan in fairy-tale wedding
- 1980Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
- 1987Dies in Manhattan of Alzheimer's complications
Biggest Hits
- Columbia altered her appearance with painful electrolysis to raise her hairline, transforming the dark-haired Margarita Cansino into the auburn 'Rita Hayworth.'
- Her public battle with Alzheimer's, diagnosed in 1980, dramatically raised awareness and research funding for the then-little-understood disease.
The Moment You Remember
In Gilda, Rita Hayworth tosses back her hair as she rises into frame, then peels off a long glove during a teasing musical number. That entrance and that gesture distilled an entire decade's idea of glamour into a few unforgettable seconds.
Portrait: Unknown (studio publicity still) · Public Domain · via Wikimedia Commons