Rita Hayworth Biography

Born in Brooklyn, Margarita Carmen Cansino was the daughter of Spanish dancer Eduardo Cansino and showgirl Volga Haworth.

The physically and socially mature Rita joined her father’s dance act at 12. She was spotted by Fox studios three years later, and made her film debut at 16, in 'Dante’s Inferno' (1935).

With the advice of her husband and promoter Edward Judson, Rita signed a contract with Columbia Studios. She changed her name to Hayworth, died her black hair auburn and raised her hairline with electrolysis. The goddess played 13 minor roles, until Columbia lent her to Warner brothers, to star opposite Fred Astaire, in 'The Strawberry Blonde' (1941).

Her sensational dancing made her a star and she became a major leading lady, working again with Astaire as well as with Tyrone Power, Charles Boyer, Gene Kelly and her second husband, Orson Welles, in 'Lady from Shanghai' (1948).

Before the camera, Rita was a bold sumptuous character spilling over with sexual charm. In private she was shy and unassuming, desperate for a calm and happy marriage, which was forever to allude her.

In 1948 she had affair with Pakistani playboy Prince Ali Khan. She married him, but only for two tempestuous years. She married again, twice, but never for more than three years.

Suspected of sever alcoholism and prone to erratic behaviour, Rita’s career dwindled in the 1950s and failed in the 1960s. She was, in fact, suffering the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, that went undiagnosed until 1980.

In the last decade of her life, almost helpless, Rita was cared for by her daughter, Princess Yasmin Khan. Rita’s death in 1987 was heavily publicized, drawing public attention and funding to the degenerative disease.