Rita Hayworth (October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987), born Margarita Carmen Cansino, was an American actress and dancer who rose to stardom in the 1940s as the era's leading sex symbol. She is listed as one of the American Film Institute's greatest stars of all time.

Early career

Rita Hayworth Cansino, better known as Rita Hayworth, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Spanish-born flamenco dancer Eduardo Cansino (Sr.) and English/Irish-American Ziegfeld girl Volga Haworth.

Hayworth was on stage by the age of six as a member of The Dancing Cansinos, a famous family of Andalusian flamenco dancers working in vaudeville. Her father had performed in a dancing duo with his sister Elisa earlier in his career, and later he revived the duo with his daughter Rita as his dancing partner, performing in nightclubs in California and the Foreign Club in Tijuana, Mexico. At age 16, already an accomplished professional dancer, Hayworth attracted the attention of film producers and was signed by Fox Studios in 1935, where she appeared mostly in small roles.