Rita Hayworth
Birthday:
17 October 1918, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Birth Name:
Margarita Carmen Cansino
Height:
168 cm
Spanish dancer Eduardo Cansino's daughter Margarita studied dancing beginning in her girlhood. At age 12, the mature-looking Rita joined Eduardo's stage act, in which she was spotted three years later by Fox studio head Winfield R. Sheehan, leading to her first studio contract and film debut at age 16 in Dante's Inferno (1935). Fox d...
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Spanish dancer Eduardo Cansino's daughter Margarita studied dancing beginning in her girlhood. At age 12, the mature-looking Rita joined Eduardo's stage act, in which she was spotted three years later by Fox studio head Winfield R. Sheehan, leading to her first studio contract and film debut at age 16 in Dante's Inferno (1935). Fox dropped her after five small roles, but expert, exploitative promotion by her first husband Edward Judson soon brought Rita a new contract at Columbia Pictures, where studio head Harry Cohn changed her surname to Hayworth and approved raising her hairline by electrolysis. After 13 mainly minor roles, Columbia lent her to Warner Bros. for her first big success, The Strawberry Blonde (1941); her splendid dancing with Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich (1941) made her a star.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. To Rita, though, domestic bliss was a more important, if elusive, goal, and in 1949 she interrupted her career for marriage - unfortunately an unhappy one almost from the start - to the playboy Prince Aly Khan. Her films after her divorce from Khan include perhaps her best straight acting performances, Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) and They Came to Cordura (1959). Beginning in 1960 (age 42), early onset of Alzheimer's disease (undiagnosed until 1980) limited Rita's ability. The last few roles in her 60-film career were increasingly small. Almost helpless by 1981, Rita was cared for by her daughter Yasmin Khan until her death at age 68. Show less «
[To writer Virginia Van Upp] Every man I have ever known has fallen in love with Gilda and awakened with me.
[To writer Virginia Van Upp] Every man I have ever known has fallen in love with Gilda and awakened with me.
I haven't had everything from life. I've had too much.
I haven't had everything from life. I've had too much.
[when asked what had held up her dress in Gilda (1946)] Two things.
[when asked what had held up her dress in Gilda (1946)] Two things.
I never really thought of myself as a sex goddess; I felt I was more a comedian who could dance.
I never really thought of myself as a sex goddess; I felt I was more a comedian who could dance.
[1974, when asked what she thought when she looks at herself after waking up in the morning] Darling, I don't wake up 'til the afternoon.
[1974, when asked what she thought when she looks at herself after waking up in the morning] Darling, I don't wake up 'til the afternoon.
All I wanted was just what everybody else wants, you know, to be loved.
All I wanted was just what everybody else wants, you know, to be loved.
What surprises me in life are not the marriages that fail, but the marriages that succeed.
What surprises me in life are not the marriages that fail, but the marriages that succeed.
I think all women have a certain elegance about them which is destroyed when they take off their clothes.
I think all women have a certain elegance about them which is destroyed when they take off their clothes.
The fun of acting is to become someone else.
The fun of acting is to become someone else.
Every actor, every director, everybody needs an Oscar. You have to have that little statue in Hollywood, or else you're nothing!
Every actor, every director, everybody needs an Oscar. You have to have that little statue in Hollywood, or else you're nothing!
Basically, I am a good, gentle person, but I'm attracted to mean personalities.
Basically, I am a good, gentle person, but I'm attracted to mean personalities.
No one can be Gilda 24 hours a day.
No one can be Gilda 24 hours a day.
We are all tied to our destiny and there is no way we can liberate ourselves.
We are all tied to our destiny and there is no way we can liberate ourselves.
After all, a girl is... well, a girl. It's nice to be told you're successful at it.
After all, a girl is... well, a girl. It's nice to be told you're successful at it.
Increasingly, stars are recruited from the ranks of professional models, with the result that today's starlets are better dressed and better...Show more »
Increasingly, stars are recruited from the ranks of professional models, with the result that today's starlets are better dressed and better groomed than ever before, though it is doubtful if they are better actresses. Show less «
[early in her career about husband Eddie Judson] I owe everything to Ed. I could never have made the grade in Hollywood without him. I was j...Show more »
[early in her career about husband Eddie Judson] I owe everything to Ed. I could never have made the grade in Hollywood without him. I was just too backward. My whole career was his idea. Show less «
[on why she divorced Orson Welles] I can't take his genius any more.
[on why she divorced Orson Welles] I can't take his genius any more.
I wanted to study singing, but Harry Cohn kept saying, "Who needs it?" and the studio wouldn't pay for it. They had me so intimidated that I...Show more »
I wanted to study singing, but Harry Cohn kept saying, "Who needs it?" and the studio wouldn't pay for it. They had me so intimidated that I couldn't have done it anyway. They always said, "Oh, no, we can't let you do it. There's no time for that; it has to be done right now!" I was under contract, and that was it. Show less «
I rode on horseback, though I was terrified of them. That was when I was doing westerns. They were something else again. And I did them beca...Show more »
I rode on horseback, though I was terrified of them. That was when I was doing westerns. They were something else again. And I did them because that was work, that was my job. So I don't start from the top. Show less «
I was certainly a well-trained dancer. I'm a good actress: I have depth. I have feeling. But they don't care. All they want is the image.
I was certainly a well-trained dancer. I'm a good actress: I have depth. I have feeling. But they don't care. All they want is the image.
Who wouldn't prefer having breakfast in bed to getting up at the crack of dawn and having a cup of coffee in a studio makeup department?
Who wouldn't prefer having breakfast in bed to getting up at the crack of dawn and having a cup of coffee in a studio makeup department?
I was never sick during The Lady from Shanghai (1947). Poor Orsie [Orson Welles] was the one who was sick; Harry Cohn made him sick.
I was never sick during The Lady from Shanghai (1947). Poor Orsie [Orson Welles] was the one who was sick; Harry Cohn made him sick.
I couldn't get used to the New York weather. On one occasion, I was laid up for a week because I caught a severe cold rushing from the dance...Show more »
I couldn't get used to the New York weather. On one occasion, I was laid up for a week because I caught a severe cold rushing from the dance studio, still soaked with perspiration, back to the hotel for voice lessons. Show less «
I didn't like dancing very much, but I didn't have the courage to tell my father, so I began taking the lessons. Rehearse, rehearse, rehears...Show more »
I didn't like dancing very much, but I didn't have the courage to tell my father, so I began taking the lessons. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. That was my girlhood. Show less «
Sometimes when I find myself getting impatient, I just remember the times I cried my eyes out because nobody wanted to take my picture at th...Show more »
Sometimes when I find myself getting impatient, I just remember the times I cried my eyes out because nobody wanted to take my picture at the Trocadero. Show less «
Orson Welles was trying something new with me on The Lady from Shanghai (1947) but Harry Cohn wanted The Image -- The Image he was going to ...Show more »
Orson Welles was trying something new with me on The Lady from Shanghai (1947) but Harry Cohn wanted The Image -- The Image he was going to make me until I was 90. Show less «
All the action in the screenplay for Separate Tables (1958) took place in a seaside hotel in England, which was a mecca for tourists in the ...Show more »
All the action in the screenplay for Separate Tables (1958) took place in a seaside hotel in England, which was a mecca for tourists in the summer and a haven for the desperate and lonely in the winter. Show less «
[on her marriage to Edward Judson] I married him for love; he married me for an investment. My husband was always finding fault with me. He ...Show more »
[on her marriage to Edward Judson] I married him for love; he married me for an investment. My husband was always finding fault with me. He was extremely jealous and quarrelsome. I never had any fun. I was never permitted to make any decisions. From the first he told me I couldn't do anything for myself. My personality crawled deeper and deeper into a shell. Show less «
Sensitive, shy -- of course I was. The fun of acting is to become someone else.
Sensitive, shy -- of course I was. The fun of acting is to become someone else.
I've always been so bored with the empty stuff I've had to play. But I've always been happiest when I've had a definite character slant to a...Show more »
I've always been so bored with the empty stuff I've had to play. But I've always been happiest when I've had a definite character slant to a role. Show less «
[on her husbands] They fell in love with Gilda and woke up with me.
[on her husbands] They fell in love with Gilda and woke up with me.
[on her marriage to James Hill] He would come in the door, go straight to his room and wouldn't even talk to me all night. He said I was not...Show more »
[on her marriage to James Hill] He would come in the door, go straight to his room and wouldn't even talk to me all night. He said I was not a nice woman in too loud a voice. Show less «
[on her divorce from Dick Haymes] I stood by him as long as he was in trouble, but I can't take it any more.
[on her divorce from Dick Haymes] I stood by him as long as he was in trouble, but I can't take it any more.
I've had a lot of unhappiness in my life--and a lot of happiness. Who doesn't? Maybe I've learned enough to be able to guide my daughters.
I've had a lot of unhappiness in my life--and a lot of happiness. Who doesn't? Maybe I've learned enough to be able to guide my daughters.
When I look back on my marriages, or the breakups, sure I know the pain I went through, but that's part of life and it has its own value.
When I look back on my marriages, or the breakups, sure I know the pain I went through, but that's part of life and it has its own value.
Old age--that's when a woman takes vitamins A through G, and still looks like H.
Old age--that's when a woman takes vitamins A through G, and still looks like H.
What ever you write about me, don't make it sad.
What ever you write about me, don't make it sad.
I like having my picture taken and being a glamorous person. Sometimes when I find myself getting impatient, I just remember the times I cri...Show more »
I like having my picture taken and being a glamorous person. Sometimes when I find myself getting impatient, I just remember the times I cried my eyes out because nobody wanted to take my picture at the Trocadero. Show less «
I guess the only jewels of my life were the pictures I made with Fred Astaire.
I guess the only jewels of my life were the pictures I made with Fred Astaire.
When you're in love, you are living, you matter.
When you're in love, you are living, you matter.
Every actor. every director, everybody needs an Oscar. You have to have that little statue in Hollywood or else you are nothing.
Every actor. every director, everybody needs an Oscar. You have to have that little statue in Hollywood or else you are nothing.
From the time I was three and a half...as soon as I could stand on my own feet, I was given dance lessons.
From the time I was three and a half...as soon as I could stand on my own feet, I was given dance lessons.
I always thought that if I ever got good reviews I'd be happy. It's so empty. It's never what I wanted, ever. All I wanted was just what eve...Show more »
I always thought that if I ever got good reviews I'd be happy. It's so empty. It's never what I wanted, ever. All I wanted was just what everyone else wants--to be loved. Show less «
Just because I was married to Aly Khan, people think I'm rich. Well, I'm not. I never got a dime from Aly or from any of my husbands.
Just because I was married to Aly Khan, people think I'm rich. Well, I'm not. I never got a dime from Aly or from any of my husbands.
Dancing in Tijuana when I was 13--that was my 'summer camp.' How else do you think I could keep up with Fred Astaire when I was 19?
Dancing in Tijuana when I was 13--that was my 'summer camp.' How else do you think I could keep up with Fred Astaire when I was 19?
Movies were much better in the days I was doing them.
Movies were much better in the days I was doing them.
Rita Hayworth's Photos
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