Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987) was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars. She appeared in 61 films over 37 years[1] and is listed as one of the American Film Institute's Greatest Stars of All Time. Hayworth was born in Brooklyn, New York as Margarita Carmen Cansino, the daughter of Spanish dancer Eduardo Cansino, Sr.[2] and Volga Hayworth, a dancer of Irish and English descent, who had performed with the Ziegfeld Follies.[3] The Catholic couple married in 1917 and had two boys after Margarita, Eduardo, Jr. and Vernon. [4][3] Rita's father wanted her to become a professional dancer while her mother hoped she would become an actress.[5] Her grandfather, Antonio Cansino, was the most renowned exponent in his day of Spain's classical dances; he popularised the bolero. His dancing school in Madrid was world famous.[6] Rita recalled, "From the time I was three and a half,... as soon as I could stand on my own feet, I was given dance lessons."[7]"I didn't like it 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."[8] She attended dance classes every day for a few years in a Carnegie Hall complex under the instruction of her uncle, Angel Cansino, performing publicly from the age of six. [3] In 1926, she featured in La Fiesta, a short film for Warner Bros..[3]
