Real Name:Margarita Carmen Cansino
Birthdate:October 17,1918
Birthplace:Brooklyn, New York
Deathdate: May 14,1987
Deathplace:New York, New York
Cause Of Death:Alzheimer's Disease
Husbands:
Edward C. Judson (29 May 1937 - 24 May 1943) (divorced)
Orson Welles (7 September 1943 - 1 December 1948) (divorced)
Prince Aly Khan (27 May 1949 - 26 January 1953) (divorced)
Dick Haymes (24 September 1953 - 12 December 1955) (divorced)
James Hill (II) (2 February 1958 - September 1961) (divorced)
Children:Daughters: Rebecca Welles, born 17 December 1945; Yasmin Khan born 28 December 1949.
Nickname:The Love Goddess
Height:5'6"
The annual Rita Hayworth charity gala, managed by daughter Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, raised $1.8 million in 1999 alone for the Alzheimer's Assn.
Rita appeared in 5 movies with classic leading actor, 'Glenn Ford' (qv), best known for their romantic pairing in the classic hit _Gilda (1946)_ (qv).
Some legends say the Margarita cocktail was named for her when she was dancing under her real name in a Tijuana, Mexico nightclub.
Daughter of Eduardo Cansino
Rita's dancer father Eduardo Cansino, himself the son of a dancer, came to New York from Spain in 1913 with sister Elisa.
Mother, showgirl Volga Hayworth (sometimes spelled Haworth) met Eduardo on Broadway in 1916; they married 1917.
Rita's first (uncredited) appearance on film was with the dancing Cansino family in a Vitaphone short 'La Fiesta (1926)'.
Rita appeared 5 times on the cover of "Life" Magazine.
The famous Bob Landry photo of Rita in "Life", 11 August 1941, p. 33, made her the number 2 soldier pin-up of World War II.
Rita's singing was dubbed by Nan Wynn (1941-44), Martha Mears (1945), Anita Ellis (1946-48), and Jo Ann Greer (1952-57).
Rita's own singing voice is heard in the introductions to her songs (otherwise dubbed by Jo Ann Greer) in 'Pal Joey (1957)'.
Owns the production company "Hillworth Productions A.G." together with her 5th husband James Hill (II).
Rita Hayworth played the sister of Barbara Stanwyck in Message to Garcia, A (1936), but after a test screening all her scenes were cut at the request of Darryl F. Zanuck.
Her face was glued onto an A-bomb which was dropped on the Bikini Atol during a test in 1946.
Through her father she is descended from the Spanish Jews.
Through her mother she is part Irish and part English.
Sort-of cousin of Ginger Rogers. Rita's uncle married Ginger's aunt.
In 1947 started her own production company "Beckworth Corporation" (formed from syllables of her daughters name (Rebecca) and her own surname). It was dissolved in 1954 under advice from her 4th husband, Dick Haymes
In the early 1940s she replaced Jean Arthur as the top female star at Columbia Picture. Coincidentally, the 2 stars share the same birthday (October 17).
