1940s Maybelline Model, Rita Hayworth a Favorite GI Pin Up Girl.

In the 1930s, Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) was confined to leads in "B" pictures, but through much of the 1940s she became the undisputed sex goddess of Hollywood films and the hottest star at Columbia Studios.

Whether illuminating the screen with a song and dance or beaming from a magazine photo, Rita Hayworth was an unforgettable sight. Capitalizing on her inherited beauty and talent to become a legendary motion picture star, Hayworth captured the hearts of countless American servicemen during the 1940s. At her peak, she epitomized American beauty,

Every woman in the world wanted the sex appeal love goddess, Rita Hayworth exuded on camera with her bedroom eye's batting from the silver screen.  Every serviceman dreamed of coming home to a doll like the voluptuous Rita Hayworth and Tom Lyle capitalized on her selling power.

During the World War ll in America romance was portrayed in every advertisement from the beauty of Maybelline eyes to the chic sex appeal of Chesterfield cigarettes.  Young love meant morale building and that encouraged the boys fighting for their country to come home soon.
 Rita Hayworth epitomized, youth, energy, romance and hope for bright future, a better future.  She was the seductive siren who called the boy's home with a glint of promise in her beautiful Maybelline eyes.


click here to see Rita singing in her famous 1946 film, Gilda.
a black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale.
Read more about Maybelline and the Hollywood Star System in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind it.