Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Cansino in New York in 1918 to a family of dancers and was trained as a dancer in order to follow in her parents’ footsteps. Rita Hayworth made her film debut at the age of 8 when her family appeared in a film “La Fiesta” in 1926. Although uncredited, this was to be her first of many films. A Fox Executive was so impressed with Hayworth’s dancing that he offered her a contract and Rita made her second film “debut” at the age of 16 in the film “Cruz Diablo” (1934). Rita continued to play small parts until received the second female lead in the film “Only Angels Have Wings” (1939). By this time she had joined Columbia where she was getting important parts but it was the 1941 film “Strawberry Blonde” which really set her apart from her previous work. In 1941, Hayworth also appeared in the film “You’ll Never Get Rich” with Fred Astaire which made her film-goers feel close to her and astounded them with her incredible dancing but it was the hit “Gilda” (1946) for which Rita will always be acquainted with. Although Hayworth continued to make films until 1972 when she made her final film, “The Wrath of God”, none of them ever achieved the same level of acclaim as “Gilda” had. By 1980, Rita Hayworth was already suffering from Alzheimer’s from which she died in 1987.
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[...] the role. This was seen by a Columbia Pictures talent agent who were looking for someone to replace Rita Hayworth and invited her to a screen test which she passed. Columbia then signed Kim Novak to a six-month [...]
Kim Novak - Vertigo | Classic Actresses added these pithy words on Oct 05 08 at 5:47 pm