First published 1990
Rita Hayworth dances across movie screens, her beauty captivating audiences worldwide. Men desire her, studios profit from her, and fans worship her image. Yet behind the glamorous performances lies a woman trapped by trauma and desperate hope. Her father's sexual abuse in childhood leaves deep scars that shape every relationship afterward. She marries five different men, each time believing she has found her savior. The marriages fail one by one. Hollywood creates her public persona but cannot heal her private wounds. At forty-two, when her career reaches its zenith, Alzheimer's disease begins destroying her mind. The same industry that built her legend now watches her decline. Rita struggles against the illness that steals her memories and talents. The beautiful actress who seemed to have everything discovers that fame cannot protect her from life's cruelest realities.
Genres: drama, historical-fiction, biography-memoir, psychological-thriller
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, redemption, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Hollywood
Period: 20th-century
372 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: abuse, mental-illness