Rebecca Welles Manning, the daughter of Hollywood legends Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles, passed away on October 17, 2004, at the age of 59. But what was the cause of her death, and what was her life like as the child of two famous parents?
A Troubled Childhood
Rebecca Welles was born on December 17, 1944, in Santa Monica, California. She was the only child of Hayworth and Welles, who were married from 1943 to 1947. Her parents were both busy and often absent, leaving her in the care of nannies and boarding schools. She also had to deal with her mother’s alcoholism, emotional instability, and early onset of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as her father’s neglect and financial troubles.
Rebecca Welles rarely saw her father, who was more interested in filmmaking than fatherhood. She occasionally visited him in Europe, where he lived and worked for most of his life. She also had three half-sisters: Chris Welles Feder, from her father’s first marriage to Virginia Nicolson; Yasmin Aga Khan, from her mother’s third marriage to Prince Aly Khan; and Beatrice Welles, from her father’s third marriage to Paola Mori.
Rebecca Welles had a difficult relationship with her mother, who was married five times and had several affairs. She once left a family gathering in Madrid because she was upset by her mother’s drinking. She also witnessed her mother’s decline due to Alzheimer’s, which was not diagnosed until 1980.
A Private Life
Rebecca Welles pursued a career in acting, following in her parents’ footsteps. She studied at the Pasadena Playhouse and appeared in a few TV shows and movies, such as The Art Linkletter Show, Hollywood and the Stars, and The Green Hornet. She also had a long-term relationship with actor Michael Flores, whom she met at the Pasadena Playhouse in 1964.
However, Rebecca Welles soon gave up acting and moved to Tacoma, Washington, where she lived a quiet and private life. She married Guy Manning, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran, in 1987. She had a son, Marc Welles, from a previous marriage. She also had three stepchildren and eight grandchildren.
Rebecca Welles avoided the spotlight and rarely spoke about her parents. She declined to be interviewed by biographers and journalists, and did not attend any public events or tributes to her parents. She preferred to focus on her family and friends, who described her as a loving, generous, and compassionate person.
A Mysterious Death
Rebecca Welles died at her home in Tacoma on October 17, 2004. The cause of her death was not publicly disclosed, although some sources claim that she had been battling an aggressive cancer. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered in Puget Sound.
Rebecca Welles’ death was not widely reported or noticed by the media or the public. She had lived in obscurity for decades, and had no contact with the Hollywood industry or the celebrity culture. She had also outlived both of her parents: Orson Welles died in 1985, and Rita Hayworth died in 1987.
Rebecca Welles’ life and death remain a mystery to many, as she was the daughter of two of the most famous and influential figures in cinema history. She was a witness to their glory and their downfall, but she chose to distance herself from their legacy and live her own life. She was, in the words of her half-sister Chris Welles Feder, “a beautiful person who deserved a better fate.”
