Rita Hayworth: Biography, Death, Marriages & Legacy

There’s a reason Rita Hayworth still haunts the Hollywood imagination. She lit up the screen in Gilda with a toss of her hair, but behind the glamour was a life filled with heartbreak, five marriages, and a devastating illness that robbed her of her mind.

Birth Name: Margarita Carmen Cansino ·
Born: October 17, 1918, Brooklyn, New York ·
Died: May 14, 1987 (age 68) ·
Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) ·
Notable Film: Gilda (1946) ·
Spouses: 5 (including Orson Welles, Prince Aly Khan)

Nine key facts at a glance, one pattern: Hayworth’s public identity was built on fluid ethnic labels and a controlled studio image that collided with her real biography.

Is Rita Hayworth Irish?

The short answer is yes — but only on her mother’s side. Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Cansino, the daughter of Eduardo Cansino, a Spanish-born dancer who emigrated from Spain in 1913 (IMDb biography), and Volga Hayworth, a Ziegfeld Follies performer of mostly Irish and English descent (IMDb). Her ethnic identity has been described inconsistently in secondary sources: labels range from Spanish and Irish to “Latin” and “Spanish-Irish American,” and some even mention possible Romani ancestry, though that is not confirmed in the cited material (Wikipedia discussion).

Rita Hayworth’s Ethnic Background

• Father: Eduardo Cansino — Spanish from Castile (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• Mother: Volga Hayworth — Irish and English (IMDb)
• Stage name: “Rita Hayworth” was created by choosing “Rita” (a diminutive of Margarita) and her mother’s maiden name, Hayworth (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Her Spanish and Irish Heritage

Hayworth’s Spanish father taught her to dance and performed with his sister in nightclubs; as a child, she appeared in their act (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Her Irish-English mother came from a performing family. This dual cultural background gave her both the fiery features that became her trademark and the discipline of a trained dancer.

The implication: The question of whether Rita Hayworth was Irish is partly a product of studio-era rebranding. Genetically and familially, she was as Irish as she was Spanish — but the industry chose to amplify one identity over the other.

Who Was Rita Hayworth’s Greatest Love?

Biographers have debated this question for decades, partly because Hayworth’s five marriages and well-publicized affairs make it hard to single out one relationship. Three names consistently surface: Orson Welles, Prince Aly Khan, and Dick Haymes.

Orson Welles

• Married 1943–1947 (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• One child: Rebecca Welles (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• Welles directed Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai (1947) and famously cut her hair short and bleached it blonde, a change that alienated her fans (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Prince Aly Khan

• Married 1949–1953 (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• One child: Yasmin Aga Khan (TIME)
• Their 1949 wedding was a global media event; Hayworth gave up her career to follow him (TIME)

Dick Haymes

• Married 1953–1955 (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• Described by Britannica as stressful and a source of growing detachment from her work (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

“One of the dearest and sweetest women that ever lived.”

— Vanity Fair article (2025) on Rita Hayworth

What Did Rita Hayworth Pass Away From?

Rita Hayworth died on May 14, 1987, in New York City at age 68 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease (TIME). Her death was widely covered, but the story of her illness is more unsettling than most people realize.

Cause of Death: Alzheimer’s Disease

• Her death certificate lists Alzheimer’s disease as the cause (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• She was diagnosed in 1980, though symptoms — memory loss, confusion, mood swings — appeared years earlier (TIME)

Misdiagnosis and Early Onset

• Hayworth’s condition was initially misdiagnosed as dementia or alcoholism (TIME)
• Her daughter Yasmin Aga Khan publicly revealed the Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 1981, which raised awareness of the disease (TIME)

Why this matters: For a woman whose entire career depended on her beauty and memory (dance routines, dialogue, precise physicality), losing her mind was a cruel irony. Her case helped destigmatize a condition that, before her, was often hidden.

Why Did Orson Welles Leave Rita Hayworth?

Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth were married from 1943 to 1947. The split is often blamed on creative differences and Welles’s controlling personality.

• Welles was reportedly controlling and focused on his career (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• Hayworth felt neglected and sought independence (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• The marriage was strained by Welles’s political activism and his affair with actress Dolores del Río (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• Welles famously chopped her hair and dyed it blonde for The Lady from Shanghai, a move that damaged her glamour image (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

What this means: The marriage was a clash of two powerhouse egos. Welles wanted an actress he could mold; Hayworth wanted a partner who respected her stardom. Neither got what they wanted.

What Did Rita Hayworth Smell Like?

Little is definitively documented about Hayworth’s personal fragrance, but popular Hollywood lore associates her with L’Air du Temps and Chanel No. 5.

• L’Air du Temps by Nina Ricci — a floral classic popular in the 1940s and 1950s
• Chanel No. 5 — a timeless choice also worn by Marilyn Monroe

No official confirmation exists, but the speculation adds a sensory layer to her mystique.

The pattern: The lack of hard evidence on Hayworth’s perfume illustrates how much of her personal life remains in the realm of rumor — a pattern that surrounds many Golden Age stars.

Was Rita Hayworth Nice?

Accounts of her personality vary widely. Many co-stars and friends described her as kind, sweet, and generous. Other sources mention she could be distant or guarded, especially after her marriages failed and her health declined (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

“She was one of the dearest and sweetest women that ever lived.”

— Vanity Fair

“She could be distant — it was a shield. She was disappointed by so many people.”

— Anonymous biographer quoted in Britannica

The pattern: The contradiction is itself the story. Hayworth was both warm and guarded, and the tension between those two selves fueled her on-screen magnetism and her off-screen struggles.

Timeline of Key Events

• 1918 – Born in Brooklyn, New York (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• 1935 – Film debut in Under the Pampas Moon (IMDb)
• 1937 – Marries Edward Judson; begins using stage name Rita Hayworth (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• 1939 – Breakthrough role in Only Angels Have Wings (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• 1941 – Life magazine photo makes her a pin-up icon (TIME)
• 1943 – Marries Orson Welles (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• 1946 – Stars in Gilda (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• 1947 – Divorces Orson Welles (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• 1949 – Marries Prince Aly Khan; gives birth to Yasmin (TIME)
• 1953 – Divorces Prince Aly Khan; marries Dick Haymes (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• 1955 – Divorces Dick Haymes (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• 1958 – Marries James Hill (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• 1961 – Divorces James Hill (Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts)
• 1972 – Last film appearance (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• 1980 – Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (TIME)
• 1987 – Dies in New York City (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• 1990 – Posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (February 5) (Hollywood Walk of Fame)

More on Rita Hayworth

For readers interested in other classic actresses, check out Angela Lansbury: Irish Roots, Children, Surgery & Death — another star who navigated family and fame. Or explore Hema Malini: Religion, Marriage, Family, and Controversies, a parallel figure of dance and stardom in Indian cinema.