From "Love Goddess" to Atomic Bomb: Rita Hayworth's Iconic Legacy
They called her "the Love Goddess," and for good reason. Fans adored her, and she became a cultural icon with her unforgettable performances in films like Gilda and Pal Joey. Her fiery red hair and voluptuous figure made her a star, but it was her talent that truly set her apart. In 1946, her image was even drawn on the side of an atomic bomb, much to the amusement of Orson Welles, who was married to her at the time. He joked, "I want my daughter to be able to tell her daughter that Grandmother’s picture was on the last atom bomb ever to explode."
Beyond the Glamour: The Complex Life of Rita Hayworth
But behind that dazzling smile and glamorous persona lay a complicated woman with a heart full of pain. Rita married five times and had numerous affairs, yet true love and lasting happiness always seemed just out of reach. Kirk Douglas, one of her lovers, once said, "I felt something deep within her I couldn’t help — loneliness, sadness — something that would pull me down." Even Orson Welles admitted, "All her life was pain." It’s a tragic reality that many fans never saw.
A Childhood Cut Short: The Making of a Star
Rita’s journey to stardom began long before Hollywood. Born Margarita Cansino, she was pulled out of school at the tender age of 12 to join the vaudeville circuit with her father, Eduardo Cansino, a dancer from Seville. Her childhood was anything but normal. "Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse," she recalled. That was her life growing up, and she never had the chance to make friends her own age. It was a rigorous, isolating existence that shaped her in ways both positive and negative.
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Unfortunately, there were darker aspects to her upbringing as well. Rita later confided in Orson Welles that her father had sexually molested her during their travels. This trauma left a permanent scar on her psyche. "Because her father was so abusive, she didn’t have any role models," explained biographer Adrienne McLean, author of Being Rita Hayworth: Labor, Identity, and Hollywood Stardom. "He kept her isolated, too." It’s a heartbreaking chapter in her life that sheds light on the struggles she faced as an adult.
Rising to Stardom: The Price of Fame
By the time Rita became a teenager, her beauty was already turning heads. She began landing small roles in films, and at 18, she married Ed Judson, a much older salesman who encouraged her to dye her hair red and take her mother’s maiden name, "Hayworth," to appear less Mediterranean. She signed with Columbia Pictures, where studio head Harry Cohn, whom she later described as a "monster," helped propel her to superstardom. Despite his possessiveness, he played a significant role in shaping her career.
However, fame didn’t bring her the happiness she craved. She divorced Ed in 1942, married Orson Welles the following year, and gave birth to a daughter, Rebecca. But Orson’s infidelity and Rita’s drinking and mood swings created turmoil in their relationship. "I just saw this lovely girl destroying herself," Orson later lamented. It was a pattern that would repeat itself in her subsequent marriage to Prince Aly Khan.
The Decline: Battling Inner Demons
Rita’s struggles only worsened as she entered her 40s. Her erratic behavior, which included drinking to cope with feelings of confusion and loss, became more pronounced. Biographer Adrienne McLean notes that during her marriages to Dick Haymes and James Hill, Rita was often in "a state of confusion" that terrified her. She turned to alcohol as a way to escape, but it only deepened her pain.
In 1980, at the age of 62, Rita was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, bringing her battles with mental health into the public eye. "It’s upsetting that we all thought that she was drinking and we attributed all of her behavior to her being an alcoholic," her nephew Richard Cansino admitted. "I feel guilty I perceived it that way." Rita spent her final years in a New York City apartment near her daughter Yasmin Khan, who cared for her alongside lifelong friends like Glenn Ford and Orson Welles. Even in his final days, Orson spoke fondly of her, calling her "one of the dearest and sweetest women that ever lived."
