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01
On May 27, 1949, she married Prince Aly Khan, making her the first movie star to become a princess not Grace Kelly.
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02
She was one of four inspirations for the animated character Jessica Rabbit, along with Veronica Lake, Julie London, and Lauren Bacall.
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03
During the fight scene in Gilda 1946, she knocked out two of Glenn Ford’s teeth.
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04
Director Rouben Mamoulian told Vogue that Hayworth moved better than anyone he had ever seen on film, comparing her movement to Garbo’s intelligence and Chaplin’s mime.
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05
At her funeral, it was her former Paddy O’Day 1936 co-star Jane Withers who delivered the eulogy.
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06
Pregnant at 26, she entered St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica on December 15, 1944, and gave birth by Cesarean section two days later to Rebecca Welles, with Frank Sinatra as godfather.
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07
Both she and her last husband, James Hill, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
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08
Her famous red hair was not natural; her natural color was black. Studio heads deemed her hairline too low, and she underwent years of painful electrolysis to raise it.
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09
She was the producers’ first choice for Casablanca 1942, but scheduling prevented her, leading to Ingrid Bergman being cast.
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10
Her father Eduardo Cansino, himself a dancer’s son, emigrated from Spain to New York in 1913 with his sister Elisa, bringing Andalusian heritage.
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11
She is one of few actresses to have danced on screen with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly; others include Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Debbie Reynolds, and Leslie Caron.
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12
Became the first public face for Alzheimer’s, as her memory loss in the 1960s was initially mistaken for drinking.
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13
Fred Astaire noted her quick learning: she mastered advanced routines in the morning, rehearsed over lunch, and performed flawlessly in the afternoon.
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14
Under Orson Welles’s influence, she read classic literature; pregnant in 1944, she was so impressed by Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe that she named her daughter Rebecca.
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15
Legend holds that the Margarita cocktail was named for her when she danced under her real name in a Tijuana nightclub.
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16
Charlton Heston wrote in his memoir about Hayworth’s brief marriage to James Hill, describing how Hill verbally abused her during a dinner in Spain, reducing her to tears.
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17
She was the first bombshell poster in The Shawshank Redemption 1994, followed by Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch.
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18
The annual Rita Hayworth charity gala, managed by daughter Princess Yasmin Khan, raised $1.8 million in 1999 for the Alzheimer’s Association.
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19
Bob Landry’s 1941 photo of Rita in Life magazine made her the number two soldier pin-up of World War II.
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20
In December 1949, pregnant with Yasmin, she went into labor at 3 AM; Prince Aly Khan panicked and drove her to Montchoisi Clinic in Lausanne, where she gave birth after seven hours.
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21
Publicist Henry Rogers, hired by Eddie Judson to promote his wife, said Judson would have sold Rita to the highest bidder to advance her career.
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22
The character Maria Vargas in The Barefoot Contessa 1954, played by Ava Gardner, was based on her.
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23
She was a cousin of Ginger Rogers and a niece of actor Vinton Hayworth.
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24
Her cook Dorothy Holmes stated that Hayworth’s best friend was Dinah Shore, with whom she often played racquetball or golf.
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25
Jane Withers recalled meeting a 16-year-old Rita Cansino on the set of Charlie Chan in Egypt; she was shy and said she only loved to dance. Withers prayed with her before filming, sparking a lifelong friendship.
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26
Monsignor Peter Healey, who delivered her funeral Mass, noted calls from across the country recalling her sweetness and graciousness; he read underlined words from The Prophet: I am in the heart of God.
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27
She sang her own introductions to songs in Pal Joey 1957, though the songs themselves were dubbed by Jo Ann Greer.
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28
In 1946, an expedition into Canada’s Headless Valley found an abandoned trapper’s shack containing a candle, a can of beans, and a picture of Rita.
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29
Her Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 1981 made her the first public face of the disease, as medical historian Barron H. Lerner noted; she was placed under her daughter’s care and lived at the San Remo Apartments in Manhattan.
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30
Columbia chief Harry Cohn only started taking interest in her after she began electrolysis treatments, which altered her hairline and appearance.
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31
Her image was glued onto an atomic bomb tested on Bikini Atoll in 1946.
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32
She replaced Jean Arthur as Columbia’s top female star in the early 1940s; they share the same birthday October 17.
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33
Her first film appearance was uncredited at age eight in Vitaphone short La Fiesta 1926.
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34
In 1977, she accepted the Rudolph Valentino Award in Bari, Italy; Variety reported a dazed Rita saying, This is the happiest moment of my life.
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35
During WWII, she made a single USO tour in 1942, visited six military camps, and volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen, serving food and dancing with servicemen.
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36
She checked into Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut in 1977 for alcohol treatment, but her later odd behavior was actually due to Alzheimer’s.
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37
She was named #19 on the American Film Institute’s 50 Greatest Screen Legends.
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38
Lynda Carter portrayed her in the TV movie Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess 1983.
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39
Choreographer Jack Cole said she was a lonely person, always a lady, but like a teenager who needed guidance; he appreciated her as one of the few nice people in movies.
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40
President Ronald Reagan issued a statement on her death, praising her courage in bringing attention to Alzheimer’s.
