logo

Rita Hayworth's Daughter Spoke about Actress' Last Days and Her Battle with Alzheimer’s

Razia Meer
Mar 26, 2019
05:53 A.M.

Rita Hayworth who would have turned a hundred last October, passed away at the age of sixty-eight while battling Alzheimer's Disease.

Advertisement

The fiery-haired mother-of-two Rita Hayworth died at her New York City apartment in 1987. She had had a fantastic run in the Hollywood limelight until Alzheimer's Disease forced her to make an abrupt exit.

HOLLYWOOD AND PRINCESSHOOD

Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, daughter of Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan, remembers her childhood fondly. When the couple divorced messily in 1953, they appear to have remained friendly and co-parented her to some extent.

Advertisement

Khan describes her living arrangement as "normal." Her mother made her clean her room and pick up her clothes. They spent a lot of quality time together, on the golf course and tennis courts.

Hayworth also took Khan to the set on filming days where she met the likes of Frank Sinatra and John Wayne.

Rita Hayworth and her husband Prince Aly Khan at Epsom races  | Source: Getty

Rita Hayworth and her husband Prince Aly Khan at Epsom races | Source: Getty

Advertisement

EARLY ONSET DEMENTIA

It was a huge shock to Khan, while in high school when she began to notice her mother's dementia.

"Repetition, a bit of paranoia, hearing things that weren’t there. And then hitting the panic button for the police. It started slowly back then. And that would be in the ‘60s."

Khan was at boarding school in Massachusetts at the time. Her mother was in her early fifties and still filming in Hollywood. Hayworth continued to exhibit odd patterns while Khan attended college in Vermont.

Rita Hayworth at the races. | Source: Getty

Rita Hayworth at the races. | Source: Getty

Advertisement

ALCOHOLISM AND ALZHEIMER'S

Hayworth's 1971 stage career was short-lived due to not being able to remember her lines. Things started going downhill quickly.

Khan has since founded the annual Rita Hayworth Gala through the Alzheimer’s Association in order to keep her mother’s legacy alive.

In 1976, the press described her as “drunk, agitated and confused” while disembarking from a plane and her alcoholic fits of rage were well known to all.

By 1980, Rita Hayworth was declared legally unable to care for herself by the courts and Khan stepped in as her mother's conservator. She finally received a diagnosis the same year.

Advertisement

LIVING WITH ALZHEIMER'S

Bringing her mother to New York City, Khan and Hayworth lived next door to each other and relied on nursing care for help.

“It was something natural,” she said. “She was so sweet and loving. My motherly instincts just took over. It was a natural thing for me to help her and go through this with her.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

LEGACY

Khan has since founded the annual Rita Hayworth Gala through the Alzheimer’s Association in order to keep her mother’s legacy alive.

She raises funds to support studying the disease in the hope of finding a cure someday and to raise awareness to help people receive an early diagnosis and treatment.

“By the time she was diagnosed, she really wasn’t totally aware. But it was difficult. … She would look at me and say, ‘Who are you?’ That was heartbreaking. … She would get angry for no reason. And belligerent. Not all people with dementia get that way, but she did. … I had to regulate her medication as she became more aggressive. … And just the basics of eventually trying to get her in the shower. It was very painful.”

Advertisement
info
Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories!
By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy
Advertisement
Related posts

Tom Hanks Has Been Married to Wife Rita for 33 Years Who He Met amid Broken Marriage to College Sweetheart

January 26, 2022

Annette Funicello Was Unable to Eat, Drink & Talk during Her Last Years — Her Husband Never Gave up Hope

March 02, 2022

Family Dog Becomes Aggressive Towards Babysitter, Parents Decide to Spy on Her

March 11, 2022

Woman Sues Her Husband to Receive Compensation, Daughter Supports Stepfather, Not Her – Story of the Day

February 07, 2022

Grandfather with Alzheimer's Finds New Joy in Life after Befriending a 4-Year-Old Boy

March 19, 2022

Kathy Bates Was 'Warned' to Hide Struggles Running 'Like a River' Through Her Family to Not Lose Career

February 17, 2022

Marion Ross Found Love at 60 - She Never Married Her Companion of 23 Years after Divorce

March 07, 2022

Mom Follows Teen Daughter Who Takes All Her Saved Money at Home and Leaves Late at Night — Story of the Day

February 03, 2022

Old Lady Adopts Lost Little Boy with Note in His Pocket, His Mother Returns after 13 Years – Story of the Day

March 25, 2022

Patrick Swayze's Last Words Before He Slipped into a Coma

February 04, 2022

Parents Notice Daughter Becoming Reclusive and Finds Out She Had Lost Her Memory – Story of the Day

January 27, 2022

Donna Mills Became Single Mom at 54 & Found Love with 'M*A*S*H' Star 7 Years Later

May 14, 2022

Woman Meets Daughter’s Fiancé and Recognizes Nephew Who Disappeared 17 Years Ago – Story of the Day

February 28, 2022

Naomi Judd's Heart Was 'Ripped Out and Stomped on by Men' ⁠— Inside Her Marriages

May 06, 2022