This explosive actress, with her stunning red hair and hourglass figure, played in dramas, romances and even comedies. Reaching her dream of dancing with Fred Astaire, she partnered with him in two films, "You'll Never Get Rich" and "You Were Never Lovelier." "The Strawberry Blonde" was Hollywood's leading lady in the mid-1940s and was considered a real bombshell. Who was this energetic movie star?

Beginning her career as a supporting cast member, Rita Hayworth came into her own in 1940 with the films, "Angels over Broadway" and "The Lady in Question." Formerly known as Rita Cansino, and working with her father as part of a latino duo called the Dancing Cansinos, she adopted her mother's more British maiden name, died her black hair red and had her forehead widened by electrolysis to give her the more traditional "American" look the studios demanded. The military wanted to paint her likeness on the shell of an atom bomb for testing in the Bikini Atoll as an homage to her bombshell status.

Asked by Leni Davenport · Last updated 5 years ago · 147.7K views · SOURCE