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| Home > actresses > Rita Hayworth > Full Biography | |||||||||||||
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Rita Hayworth Biography |
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| Rita Hayworth was an American actress of Spanish and English descent who reached fame during the 1940s as the era's leading sex symbol. She was sometimes called "The Love Goddess" or "The Great American Love Goddess," and was celebrated as an expert dancer and great beauty. At age sixteen Rita attracted the attention of film producers as part of "The Dancing Cansinos" and was signed by Fox Studios in 1935. After her option was not renewed by Fox, Rita freelanced at minor film studios before signing with Columbia Pictures in 1937. After two more years of minor roles she gave an impressive performance in Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings (1939) as part of an ensemble cast headed by Cary Grant . Her sensitive portrayal of a disillusioned wife sparked the interest of other studios. Between assignments at Columbia Pictures she was borrowed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer for George Cukor's Susan and God (1940) with Joan Crawford and Warner Brothers for Raoul Walsh's The Strawberry Blonde (1941) with James Cagney. Rita would also become Columbia's biggest star of the 1940s, under the watchful eye of studio chief Harry Cohn, who recognized her value. After she made Tales of Manhattan (1942) opposite Charles Boyer, Cohn would not allow Hayworth to be loaned out to other studios. Hayworth's well-known films include the musicals that made her famous: You'll Never Get Rich (1941) and You Were Never Lovelier (1942) (both with Fred Astaire, who wrote in his autobiography that Rita "danced with trained perfection and individuality"), My Gal Sal (1942) with Victor Mature, and her best known musical, Cover Girl (1944) with Gene Kelly. Although her singing voice was dubbed in her movies, Rita was one of Hollywood's best dancers, imbued with power, precision, tremendous enthusiasm, and an unearthly grace. Cohn continued to effectively showcase Hayworth's talents in Technicolor films: Tonight and Every Night (1945) with Lee Bowman, and Down to Earth (1947), with Larry Parks. Her erotic appeal was most notable in Gilda (1946), a black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor, which encountered some difficulty with censors. This role — in which Hayworth in black satin performed a legendary one-glove striptease — made her into a cultural icon as the ultimate femme fatale. Alluding to her bombshell status, in 1946 her likeness was placed on the first nuclear bomb to be tested after World War II at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as part of Operation Crossroads. Hayworth was also the first dancer to partner both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly on film - the others being Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, Vera Ellen, and Leslie Caron. Rita left her film career in 1948 to marry Prince Aly Khan, the heir to the Aga Khan, leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims. The couple moved to Europe, causing a media frenzy. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, in writing and directing 1954's The Barefoot Contessa, was said to have based his title character, Maria Vargas on Hayworth's life and her marriage to Prince Aly Khan. | |||||||||||||
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