According to the book "Debrett goes to Hollywood" by Charles Kidd, Rita was descended on her mother's side from an Allyn Haworth, whose family was reputed to be descended from the town of Haworth in West Yorkshire. Haworth is also famous as the home of the Bronte sisters.
Along with James Cagney, is mentioned by name in the Tom Waits' song "Invitation To The Blues".
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 399-400. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars" in film history (#54). [1995]
Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn only began taking interest in Hayworth as star material after she began undergoing painful electrolysis treatments (at the urging of husband Eddie Judson), which drastically altered her hairline and appearance.
Cousin of Ginger Rogers.
Daughters: Rebecca Welles (17 December 1944 to 17 October 2004) and Yasmin Khan, born 28 December 1949.
Former step-mother of Christopher Welles.
Her dancer father, Eduardo Cansino, himself the son of a dancer, came to New York from Spain in 1913 with sister Elisa.
Her first (uncredited) appearance on film was with the dancing Cansino family in a Vitaphone short La fiesta (1926) (aka "La Fiesta").
Her own singing voice is heard in the introductions to her songs (otherwise dubbed by Jo Ann Greer) in Pal Joey (1957).
Her singing was dubbed by Nan Wynn (1941-44), Martha Mears (1945), Anita Ellis (1946-48), and Jo Ann Greer (1952-57).
In 1946, an expedition into the wilderness of Canada's unexplored Headless Valley came across an abandoned trapper's shack. In it the expedition found three things: a candle, a can of beans, and a picture of Rita.
In 1947, started her own production company, "Beckworth Corporation" (formed from syllables of her daughters name, Rebecca, and her own surname). It was dissolved in 1954 under advice from her fourth husband, Dick Haymes.
In Italy, all her films were dubbed by either Tina Lattanzi, most notably in Gilda (1946), and later in her career by Lidia Simoneschi.
In the early 1940s, she replaced Jean Arthur as the top female star at Columbia Pictures. Coincidentally, the two stars share the same birthday (October 17).
Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the Grotto section, L196, #6 (to the right of the main sidewalk, near the curb).
Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue".
Is portrayed by Veronica Watt in Hollywoodland (2006).
It was James Hill, her fifth husband, who recognised her true talent as a comedienne. He tried to encourage her to do more comedy, but she felt that it was too late and instead began to resent him for pushing her into more work.