Rita Hayworth

By the mid 1930s she was asked to colour her hair dark red and change her name to Rita Hayworth, after which she became the classic ‘American pin-up’.

In 1937, she married Edward C. Judson in Las Vegas; he played a major role in launching her acting career. The marriage ended in 1942.

In 1943, she married Orson Welles and the couple had a daughter, Rebecca together. She however, filed for divorce in 1948.

She was born as Margarita Carmen Cansino in Brooklyn, New York to Eduardo Cansino, Sr. well-known actor and dancer and Volga Hayworth, a showgirl and dancer.

She started attending dance classes from a very young age at the Carnegie Hall, New York, where she was taught by her uncle, Angel Cansino. She eventually gave her first dance performance at the age of six.

In 1926, at the age of eight, she appeared in the Warner Bros short film ‘La Fiesta’.

In 1927, her family moved to Hollywood, where her father opened a dance studio. But, during the era of Great Depression, public interest in dancing classes waned and the dancing studio was closed down. Thereafter, her father partnered with her to form ‘The Dancing Casinos’ and she started dancing in nightclubs and bars.

She attended the Hamilton High school in Los Angeles until the 9th grade, after which she had to drop out because she could not focus on both education and dancing.

She appeared in five films during her contract period with the Fox Corporation, all of which were minor roles. Her contract was not renewed after its expiration.

In 1935, she appeared in movies like ‘Dante’s Inferno’, ‘Under the Pampas Moon’, ‘Charlie Chan in Egypt’ and ‘Paddy O’Day’, in which she played the role of a Russian dancer.

In 1936, she played her first major starring role in the movie ‘Human Cargo’, a movie directed by Allan Dwan.

In 1937, after she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, she was seen in five of their minor films and she also appeared in other independent films.

In 1939, she played the role of ‘Judy MacPherson’ in the Howard Hawks film ‘Only Angels Have Wings’. The role was small but pivotal and film’s box office success also brought stardom for her.

Her 1941 Academy Award nominated film, ‘The Strawberry Blonde’ was a smash hit at the box office and also received immense positive reviews from The New York Times.