Rita Hayworth: The Creation of a Hollywood Star

I don't know how many are like me but I can't get enough of old Hollywood movies. The Golden Age of Cinema showcases for me the epitome of Hollywood glamour. While I don't think stars are what they used to be, I think that Hollywood continues to employ some of the same tactics when "creating a star." Publicists and agents have a lot of money invested in their stars. Because of this aspiring talents are formed into ideals. One of my all time favorite movie stars ever is Rita Hayworth. I thought she was so beautiful and glamorous. I was so fascinated by her that I decided to do a little homework and find out more about her. I had no idea that she was another Hollywood creation.

When most think of Rita Hayworth perhaps they think fondly of “Shawshank Redemption” and the poster that helps set Andy free. Perhaps you remember her fondly from movies such as “Gilda” or “The Loves of Carmen.” Most people would never know what she went through to become the “it” girl she was once revered as. Unfortunately, Rita Hayworth learned that there would be a price to pay in order to obtain success. Hayworth’s real name was Margarita Carmen Cansino, while her transformation was in some ways gradual, the lengths of her transformation were extensive. The fabrication of Rita Hayworth entailed body reshaping through hard exercise and body conditioning; her voice was also strengthened by diction lessons; changing her hair color from a dark brown to red; and raising her low forehead through two years of painful electrolysis on her hairline. This transformation was capped off by the anglicization of her name in 1937, when she signed a contract with Columbia Studios. In an era where the studio system owned celebrities and their identities, Columbia transformed the former Latin starlet known as Rita Cansino into their very own Rita Hayworth, All American glamour girl. “Rita Hayworth was a manufactured product by Columbia Pictures. She was trained, honed, hyped, and market-tested…” This coupled with the carefully methodological placement of her in publications grew rise to the All American Glamour girl she was presented to be. Can you all think of anyone you think has been clearly created by the Hollywood machine???