Natacha Rambova (born Winifred Kimball Shaughnessy; January 19, 1897 – June 5, 1966) was an American dancer, costume designer, art director, and Egyptologist. Rising to prominence in the early 1920s, she became one of Hollywood's first women to exert significant creative control behind the camera, particularly through her collaborations with silent film actor Rudolph Valentino, whom she married in 1923.
Trained in ballet and the visual arts, Rambova began her career dancing with Russian ballet choreographer Theodore Kosloff before moving into stage and film design. She gained recognition for her work with Russian actress Alla Nazimova, contributing to a series of visually daring productions noted for their modernist and Art Deco aesthetics. As Valentino's wife and creative partner, Rambova played a central—if controversial—role in shaping his screen image, serving as costume designer, art director, and consultant on several of his films. Her emphasis on stylized design, historical authenticity, and European modernism marked a departure from conventional Hollywood aesthetics of the period and proved both influential and controversial.
Following her divorce from Valentino in 1926, Rambova largely withdrew from the film industry and opened a couture boutique in New York. During the Great Depression, she relocated to Europe, where she married a Spanish nobleman. In her later years, she became a respected Egyptologist, collaborating with scholars and co-authoring works on ancient Egyptian history and mythology. She died in 1966 in California of a heart attack while working on a manuscript examining patterns within the texts in the Pyramid of Unas.
Early life
thumb|Rambova's passport photograph, 1916|alt=A young woman facing a camera, staring toward the right|232x232pxRambova was born Winifred Kimball Shaughnessy on January 19, 1897, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father, Michael Shaughnessy, was an Irish Catholic from New York City who fought for the Union during the American Civil War and then worked in the mining industry. Her mother, Winifred Shaughnessy (née Kimball), was the granddaughter of Heber C. Kimball, a member of the first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was raised in a prominent Salt Lake City family.
During her childhood, Rambova spent summer vacations at the Villa Trianon in Le Chesnay, France with Edgar's sister, the French designer Elsie de Wolfe. She was given the nickname "Wink" by her aunt Teresa to distinguish her from her mother because of their shared name.
A rebellious teenager, Rambova was sent by her mother to Leatherhead Court, a boarding school in Surrey, England. In her schooling, she became fascinated by Greek mythology, and also proved especially gifted at ballet. After seeing Anna Pavlova in a production of Swan Lake in Paris with her former step-aunt Elsie, Rambova decided she wanted to pursue a career as a ballerina.
Career
Early dance career
Her family initially encouraged her to study ballet as a social grace rather than a profession. However, she demonstrated such exceptional talent that plans were made to take her to London and, under the management of Herbert Beerbohm Tree, place her with one of England's leading dance teachers. The outbreak of World War I disrupted these plans and prevented the journey in 1914.
Rambova made her public debut as a dancer in November 1914 at a benefit fête in Burlingame held in aid of Belgian war relief. In 1915, she continued performing throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and later that summer traveled to New York City, where she remained for an extended stay with her aunt Teresa. Standing at , Rambova was too tall to be a classical ballerina, but she was soon offered a leading part in his act. Rambova's mother was outraged upon discovering the affair and attempted to separate her from Kosloff by withholding $2,637 owed for dance lessons and gowns, offering payment only if he ceased contact, and seeking his arrest and deportation on statutory rape charges.
In April 1916, fearing that her relationship with Kosloff was about to be severed, Rambova fled to Canada and then sailed to Bournemouth, England. There, she stayed with Kosloff's wife Maria "Alexandria" Baldina, under an assumed role as a governess for his daughter. Rambova's mother appealed to American politicians and the Russian ambassador for help in locating her and hired private detectives, prompting a nationwide search. In July 1916, during a San Francisco engagement of Kosloff's Imperial Ballet, Rambova's mother met with Kosloff and agreed to withdraw all charges, permitted Rambova to continue dancing with the company, and pledged financial support for costumes and sets in exchange for her daughter's return and a reconciliation.
As part of their arrangement, her mother told the press that Rambova had been located in Australia and was fulfilling a professional engagement. In August 1916, Rambova returned to the United States and was reunited with her mother in San Francisco. Her mother followed her to Chicago and they met with the chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation before Rambova rejoined Kosloff's company in Omaha under the Russian-inspired alias Vera Fredowa. Shortly after, Kosloff suggested that she adopt the stage name Natacha Rambova. She eventually became disillusioned upon learning that Kosloff had maintained relationships with multiple women in the company during her absence, though her determination to establish herself as an artist tempered her sense of betrayal and disappointment.
Costume and set design
thumb|Rambova and [[Theodore Kosloff in costumes designed by Rambova for their Aztec dance number on the Keith-Orpheum circuit, 1917|369x369px]]
In 1917, Kosloff was hired by Cecil B. DeMille as a performer and costume designer for the film The Woman God Forgot, after which he and Rambova relocated from New York to Los Angeles. Rambova carried out much of the creative work as well as the historical research on Aztec culture for Kosloff, who claimed credit for these as his own. After the film's completion, DeMille offered Theodore Kosloff and his assistants further studio work, but they declined in order to continue touring on the Keith-Orpheum circuit. In late 1917, the Imperial Russian Ballet launched its second Los Angeles engagement, highlighted by The Aztec Dance, performed by Natacha Rambova and Kosloff, who wore his costume from the DeMille film. The tour was critically successful and concluded in New York in the spring of 1918.
Shortly thereafter, the Russian Revolution led to the confiscation of Kosloff's Moscow property by the Bolshevik government, resulting in the financial collapse of the Imperial Russian Ballet. A final tour was planned for the 1918–19 season, during which auditions were held nationwide for students to enroll in the Los Angeles dance school established by Kosloff, Rambova, and Vera Fredova at Trinity Auditorium. Maria Gambarelli of the New York Metropolitan Opera replaced Rambova as Kosloff's principal dance partner, as Rambova increasingly focused on designing costumes and sets for new productions inspired by Tartar themes. Disheartened by Kosloff's financial collapse but not wanting to return home, she nonetheless remained with the company, devoting her efforts to research and design. The elaborate production was well received, with the press praising its "striking and spectacular" costuming, harmonious setting, and superb dancing.
Rambova increasingly resented Kosloff for taking credit for the extensive research and design work she undertook in support of his emerging motion-picture career. Although Kosloff was an avid painter, he showed little interest in costume or set design, yet he routinely presented Rambova's completed sketches to DeMille as his own after approving them. Rambova designed costumes for Kosloff's supporting roles in Why Change Your Wife? (1920) and Something to Think About (1920). On DeMille's subsequent production, Forbidden Fruit (1921), a fantasy sequence inspired by Cinderella was assigned jointly to Rambova and Mitchell Leisen. The sequence became the film's most visually striking element. Leisen later credited Rambova for much of the work: "I did some of the clothes for the Cinderella Ball... Natasha [sic] Rambova did the others. One of hers was a black dress for the Fairy Godmother that had little electric lights all over the skirt." To Rambova's frustration, Photoplay credited the film's costume designs to Claire West, head of wardrobe at the Lasky Studio, where DeMille worked. DeMille himself credited Kosloff with creating the fantasy sequence's costumes, further obscuring Rambova's role.thumb|Costume concept for [[Forbidden Fruit (1921 film)|Forbidden Fruit (1921), designed and drawn by Rambova|alt=Illustration of woman in ornate costume|307x307px|left]]
Around this time, actress Alla Nazimova was taking dance lessons from Kosloff in preparation for one of her films. As he had previously done with DeMille, Kosloff offered to submit costume and set designs. This resulted in Rambova's work appearing in the dream sequences of Nazimova's film Billions (1920), which also featured girls from the Kosloff School of Dancing as nymphs. Rambova subsequently began designing for Nazimova's next project, an adaptation of Pierre Louÿs's Aphrodite. Rather than presenting the sketches himself, Kosloff asked Rambova to deliver the designs directly to Nazimova. Nazimova responded favorably but requested revisions, and was impressed when Rambova executed the changes immediately in her own hand, making clear that she was the designer responsible for the work. Impressed by both the designs and their creator, Nazimova offered Rambova a position on her production staff as an art director and costume designer, proposing a wage of up to USD $5,000 per picture ().
While working on Aphrodite—a project that was never filmed—Rambova used the opportunity to end her relationship with Kosloff. She chose a weekend to move out of his Franklin Avenue house while Kosloff was away visiting DeMille at his country estate, Paradise. Agnes de Mille, one of Kosloff's students and DeMille's niece, later remarked that his visits there involved "girls" rather than hunting. Rambova was aware of Kosloff's ongoing affairs and of his sexual relationships with young pupils, factors that prompted her departure. On the morning she planned to leave him, Kosloff returned home unexpectedly, confronted her, and ordered her to unpack. When she refused and headed for the door, he shot her with a hunting rifle, and the bullet lodged above her knee. Rambova escaped with the help of a housemate, Vera Fredova, fleeing through a window and reaching a waiting taxi.
Rambova went to the Metro studio, where Nazimova's Aphrodite was in production. French cinematographer Paul Ivano later recalled that Rambova arrived "in tears, nearly hysterical," adding, "We spent nearly the entire day picking the birdshot out of her leg, as she related how Kosloff had tried to kill her." Despite the severity of the attack, Rambova declined to press charges, believing that the resulting notoriety would damage her reputation and overshadow the beginning of her career as Nazimova's art director. Instead, she chose to suppress the episode. In later years, she explained her injuries by claiming she had been shot by a jealous ballerina, using the story as an excuse for abandoning her dance career. Her relationship with Kosloff profoundly affected her: she became determined to conceal her emotions and vulnerabilities behind a carefully maintained air of aloof detachment.
Relationship with Rudolph Valentino
thumb|Rudolph Valentino in a costume designed by Rambova for [[The Young Rajah (1922)|291x291px]]
In 1921, Rambova was introduced to actor Rudolph Valentino by Nazimova on the Metro lot while he was filming Uncharted Seas (1921). "It wasn't love at first sight," Rambova later recalled to Photoplay. "I think it was good comradeship more than anything else. We were both very lonely but we had known each other more than six months before we became interested in each other." They subsequently worked together on Camille (1921), a film that was a financial failure and resulted in Metro Pictures terminating their contract with Nazimova. While making the film, however, Rambova and Valentino became romantically involved.
They married on May 13, 1922, in Mexicali, Mexico, an event described by Rambova as "wonderful ... even though it did cause many worries and heartaches later."
However, since he had obtained from his estranged wife, actress Jean Acker, only an interlocutory decree of divorce and not a final divorce judgment (which could be obtained only after an year had passed from the interlocutory decree of divorce), Valentino was jailed for bigamy, having to be bailed out by friends. Rambova later claimed that Famous Players–Lasky treated Valentino harshly and attempted to force her out of his life by sending her to New York and urging her to leave for Europe.
thumb|Rambova photographed by [[James Abbe, published in Motion Picture Magazine, March 1923|271x271px]]
While her association with Valentino lent Rambova a celebrity typically afforded to actors, their professional collaborations showed up their differences more than their similarities, and she did not contribute to any of his successful films in spite of serving as his manager. In The Young Rajah (1922) she designed authentic Indian costumes that tended to compromise his Latin lover image, and the film was a major flop. She also supported his one-man strike against Famous Players–Lasky, which left him temporarily banned from movie work. In the interval, they performed a promotional dance tour for Mineralava Beauty Products in 1923. When they reached her hometown of Salt Lake City, and she was billed as "The Little Pigtailed Shaughnessy Girl", Rambova was deeply insulted. During the tour, Rambova and Valentino publicly criticized the Hollywood studio system; Rambova later articulated these views in an article she wrote for the summer issue of Movie Weekly, condemning graft in the motion-picture business and arguing that audiences were forced to subsidize corruption through inflated ticket prices.
In 1922, Rambova designed the costumes for Nazimova's Salomé, inspired by the work of Aubrey Beardsley. Rambova's later work with Valentino was characterized by elaborate and costly preparations for films that underperformed at the box office, including Monsieur Beaucaire (1924) and A Sainted Devil (1924).left|thumb|264x264px|Rambova and Valentino with their dogs at their Whitley Heights home. Published in The New Movie, August 1930In September 1924, Rambova and Valentino traveled through Spain to research locations, architecture, and artifacts for a planned film project, later titled The Hooded Falcon. Rambova oversaw the acquisition of props and antiques, while Valentino documented Moorish sites. The trip proved costly, exhausting research funds and resulting in significant debt. After returning to the California, the couple retreated to their home in Whitley Heights, Los Angeles, designed by Rambova as a highly stylized sanctuary emphasizing modern décor and European antiques. They socialized infrequently in Hollywood, favoring privacy and domestic life. Rambova later remarked that work was "the one thing which makes life in Hollywood tolerable."
Rambova oversaw costume and set design by Adrian and William Cameron Menzies for The Hooded Falcon. When production delays made filming impractical, producer J. D. Williams persuaded the Valentinos to proceed with Cobra (1925) as an interim project. Rambova did some designs but took little interest in the contemporary story, later stating that modern subjects bored her unless they were "symbolic or fantastical," and ultimately relinquished production management duties to Valentino's manager George Ullman. The film was a commercial failure, with Ullman publicly attributing its problems to Rambova's influence. Sensational claims by actress Colleen Moore circulated in Hollywood, alleging that Rambova relied on daily séances to write the script. Meanwhile, production plans for The Hooded Falcon were repeatedly scaled back, and the script by June Mathis was ultimately abandoned, with setbacks often attributed to Rambova.
By this time, critics and the press were beginning to blame Rambova's excessive control for these failures. United Artists went so far as to offer Valentino an exclusive contract with the stipulation that Rambova had no negotiating power, and was disallowed from even visiting the sets of his films. After this, Rambova was offered $30,000 to create a film of her choosing, which resulted in the production of What Price Beauty?, a drama which she co-produced and co-wrote. Rambova discovered actress Myrna Loy and cast her in the film.
When Rambova and Valentino separated in 1925, she initially dismissed the divorce rumors. "I'm sure this marital holiday will be a good thing for us both. When a husband and wife both are working and both are the possessors of temperaments I think they should have a vacation from each other. Since I've begun making my own pictures we have been drawn more or less apart, and I can't find the time to devote to the home that I used to. My husband is a great lover of home life," she said. Ullman acknowledged arranging the surveillance but denied Valentino's involvement, and no explanation was publicly given. She was granted a divorce in Paris on the grounds of abandonment on January 19, 1926.thumb|Rambova and Valentino in Los Angeles before she boarded a train for New York, shortly before she announced their separation, 1925|alt=Man and woman standing together, looking into the camera|291x291px
After the divorce was finalized, Rambova moved on to other ventures: On March 2, 1926, she patented a doll she had designed with a "combined coverlet", and also produced and starred in her own picture, Do Clothes Make the Woman? with Clive Brook (now lost). However, the distributor took the opportunity to bill her as 'Mrs. Valentino' and changed the title to When Love Grows Cold; Rambova was horrified by the title change. The film did garner press due to it being Rambova's first screen credit, however. An Oregon newspaper teased before a screening: "Natacha Rambova (Mrs. Rudolph Valentino)... So much has been written of this remarkable lady who won and lost the heart of the great Valentino that everyone wants to see her. Tonight is your opportunity to do so."
The film, however, was not well received by critics; a review in Picture Play deemed the film "the poorest picture of the month, or of almost any month, for that matter," adding: "The interiors are bad, the costumes atrocious. Miss Rambova is not well dressed, nor does she film well, in the slightest degree." After its release, Rambova never worked in film, on or offscreen, again. Three months later, Valentino died unexpectedly of peritonitis, leaving Rambova inconsolable, and she purportedly locked herself in her bedroom for three days. Though she did not attend his funeral, she sent a telegram to Valentino's business manager George Ullman, requesting he be buried in her family crypt at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx (a request Ullman denied).
Writing and fashion design
After Valentino's death, Rambova relocated to New York City. There, she immersed herself in several endeavors, appearing in vaudeville at the Palace Theatre and writing a semi-fictional play entitled All that Glitters, which detailed her relationship with Valentino, and concluded in a fictionalized happy reconciliation. She also published the 1926 memoir, Rudy: An Intimate Portrait by His Wife Natacha Rambova, which contains memories of her life with him. The following year, a second memoir was published entitled Rudolph Valentino Recollections (a variation of Rudy: An Intimate Portrait), in which she prefaces an addended final chapter by asking that only those "ready to accept the truth" read on; what follows is a detailed letter supposedly communicated by Valentino's spirit from an astral plane, which Rambova claimed to have received during an automatic writing session. While residing in New York, she frequently arranged séances with medium George Wehner, and claimed to have made contact with Valentino's spirit on several occasions. Rambova also appeared in supporting parts in two original 1927 Broadway productions: Set a Thief, a drama written by Edward E. Paramore, Jr., and Creoles, a comedy written by Kenneth Perkins and Samuel Shipman.
thumb|Rambova arrives in New York City on the [[RMS Homeric (1913)|S.S. Homeric, 1926|287x287px]]
In June 1928, she opened an elite couture shop on Fifth Avenue and West 55th street in Manhattan, which sold Russian-inspired clothing that Rambova herself designed. Her clientele included Broadway and Hollywood actresses such as Beulah Bondi and Mae Murray. On opening the shop, she commented: "I'm in business, not exactly because I need the money, but because it enables me to give vent to an artistic urge." In addition to clothing, the shop also carried jewelry, although it is unknown if it was designed by Rambova or imported. By late 1931, Rambova had grown uneasy about the economic situation of the United States during the Great Depression, and feared the country would experience a drastic revolution. This led her to close her shop and formally retire from commercial fashion design, leaving the United States to live in Juan-les-Pins, France in 1932.
On a yacht cruise to the Balearic Islands, she met her second husband Álvaro de Urzáiz, a British-educated Spanish aristocrat. The couple married privately in 1932, with the union not publicly disclosed until 1934. She settled in New Milford, Connecticut, where she spent the following several years working as an editor on the first three volumes of Piankoff's series Egyptian Texts and Religious Representations, Rambova continued to write and research intensely into her sixties, often working twelve hours per day.
Later life and death
In the early 1950s Rambova developed scleroderma, which significantly affected her throat, impeding her ability to swallow and speak.
In 1957, Rambova moved to New Milford, Connecticut, and devoted her time to researching a comparative study of ancient religious symbolism, which she continued virtually unabated until her death.
She grew delusional, believing that she was being poisoned, and quit eating, resulting in malnourishment. On September 29, 1965, she was discovered going "berserk" in a hotel elevator in Manhattan. Rambova was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital, where she was diagnosed with paranoid psychosis brought on by malnutrition.
With her health in rapid decline, Rambova's cousin, Ann Wollen, relocated her from her home in Connecticut to California, in order to help take care of her. There, Rambova was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Arcadia. On January 19, 1966, she was relocated to a nursing home at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena. She died there six months later of a heart attack on June 5, 1966, at the age of 69. At her wishes, Rambova was cremated, and her ashes were scattered in a forest in northern Arizona.
She left an estate valued at $368,000, a large collection of Tibetan-Lamaist art and ritual objects—donated to the Philadelphia Museum of Art—and an unfinished 1,000-page manuscript examining patterns in the texts of the Pyramid of Unas. This has led some historians to refer to the couple's union as a "lavender marriage." and Dell Richards's Lesbian Lists: A Look at Lesbian Culture, History, and Personalities (1990).
The basis of the claim is an alleged relationship Rambova had with Alla Nazimova, her friend and peer while Rambova was beginning her career in film design.