Who was Rita Hayworth? Born Margarita Carmen Cansino, she spent her life subjected to others' definitions of her, no matter how hard she worked to claim her own identity. Although there have been many "revelations" about her life and career, Adrienne McLean's book is the first to show that such disclosures were part of a constructed image from the outset. McLean explores Hayworth's participation in the creation of her star persona, particularly through her work as a dancer-a subject ignored by most film scholars.

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Why Rita Hayworth?
Part One. Stardom Off the Screen
Part Two. Film Stars, Film Texts, Film Studies
Afterword: Replacing the Love Goddess
Notes
Cansino/Hayworth Filmography
Bibliography
Index

ADRIENNE L. MCLEAN is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is also the author of Dying Swans and Madmen and the co-editor of Headline Hollywood: A Century of Film Scandal.