Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Cansino on October 17, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York, to a family of dancers. Her father, Eduardo Cansino Reina, was a dancer, as was his father before him, and emigrated from Spain in 1913. Rita's mother, Volga Margaret (Hayworth),was of mostly Irish descent.
Rita studied dance to follow in her family's footsteps and joined her family on stage at the age of eight. She made her film debut at 16 in Dante's Inferno (1935),followed by Cruz Diablo (1934). Fox dropped her after five small roles, but expert promotion by her first husband Edward Judson brought her a new contract at Columbia Pictures, where studio head Harry Cohn changed her surname to Hayworth and raised her hairline by electrolysis.
Rita played the second female lead in Only Angels Have Wings (1939) and after 13 minor roles, Columbia lent her to Warner Bros. for her first big success, The Strawberry Blonde (1941). Her dancing with Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich (1941) made her a star.
Rita was probably the second most popular actress after Betty Grable. Her dancing in You'll Never Get Rich (1941) was astounding, and her natural, raw beauty was showcased in Blood and Sand (1941),filmed in Technicolor.
After the hit Gilda (1946),her career was on the skids. The drought began between The Lady from Shanghai (1947) and Champagne Safari (1954),and she was not seen again until Pal Joey (1957). Part of the reasons for the downward spiral was television, but also Rita had been replaced by a new star at Columbia, Kim Novak.
Rita said, "Men fell in love with Gilda, but they wake up with me". In person, Rita was shy, quiet and unassuming; only when the cameras rolled did she turn on the explosive sexual charisma that in Gilda (1946) made her a superstar.
Rita interrupted her career for marriage to Prince Aly Khan in 1949, but her films after her divorce from Khan included perhaps her best straight acting performances, Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) and They Came to Cordura (1959).
After a few, rather forgettable films in the 1960s, her career was essentially over. Her final film was The Wrath of God (1972).
