Eduardo Cansino was born on March 2, 1895, in
Castilleja de la Cuesta,
Andalucia, Spain. His sister,
Elisa, was also a dancer. His father,
Antonio Cansino, combined classical flamenco dancing with Roma flamenco. Antonio was known worldwide for dancing the
bolero. Eduardo's immigration to the United States was sponsored by the
Stuyvesant family. In New York he performed for, instructed, and integrated into high society. There, he joined the
Ziegfeld Follies where he met
Volga Hayworth. They married in 1917. They had three children:
Margarita Carmen (October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987), Eduardo Jr. (October 13, 1919 – March 11, 1974), and Vernon (May 21, 1922 – March 23, 1974). After she began making films in Hollywood, Margarita Carmen Cansino took her mother's maiden name as her professional surname, becoming
Rita Hayworth. Her biographer,
Barbara Leaming, wrote that her mother may have been the only person to know; she slept in the same bed as her daughter to try to protect her. Leaming wrote that the abuse experienced by Hayworth as a young girl contributed to her difficulty in relationships as an adult. ==Death==