Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor who became immortalized as a cultural icon and s*x symbol of the 1920s with his performance in hugely popular films like The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), A Sainted Devil (1924), The Sheik (1921), Blood and Sand (1922), The Eagle (1925), The Son of the Sheik (1926), The Young Rajah (1922), Camille (1921), etc.
Born Name
Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguella
Nick Name
Rudolph Valentino, The Latin Lover, The Sheik, The Great Lover, Valentino, Rudy, Rudi
Age
He was born on May 6, 1895.
Died
He passed away on August 23, 1926, at the age of 31 years in New York City. The cause of his death was a ruptured gastric ulcer and general peritonitis, with septic pneumonia and septic endocarditis as contributory causes.
Sun Sign
Taurus
Born Place
Castellaneta, Kingdom of Italy
Nationality
Occupation
Actor
Family
Father – Giovanni Antonio Giuseppe Fedele Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguella (Italian Army Veteran, Veterinarian)
Mother – Marie Berthe Gabrielle Barbin
Siblings – Alberto Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguella (Older Brother), Maria Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguella (Younger Sister), Beatrice Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguella (Older Sister)
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 8 in or 173 cm
Weight
67 kg or 147.5 lbs
Girlfriend / Boyfriend / Spouse
Rudolph Valentino had dated –
Blanca de Saulles – RUMOR
Jean Acker (1919-1921) – He married actress Jean Acker on November 5, 1919, after only a few days of dating. Their impulsive marriage became one of the shortest marriages in Hollywood as it lasted for only 6 hours and was not consummated. They quickly separated, however, their divorce wasn’t finalized until 1921. Ironically enough, the two stayed lifelong friends after their divorce.
Natacha Rambova (1921-1926) – On March 14, 1923, he legally wed the costume and set designer Natacha Rambova. However, their marriage ended in a bitter divorce on January 19, 1926.
Vilma Bánky (1925)
Pola Negri (1925-1926)
Ramón Novarro – RUMOR
Paul Ivano – RUMOR
Douglas Gerrad – RUMOR
Marion Benda (1926)
Nita Naldi (1926)
Jacques Hébertot
Dagmar Godowsky
George Beranger – RUMOR
June Mathis
Beatrice Dominguez
Hans Unterkircher – RUMOR
Norman Kerry – RUMOR
Lucius Henderson
Blanca Errázuriz
Robert Frazer – RUMOR
Georgia Thym
Maurice Mouvet – RUMOR
Marion Davies
Samuel Steward – RUMOR
Race / Ethnicity
White
He had Italian ancestry on his father’s side and was of French descent on his mother’s side.
Hair Color
Dark Brown
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
However, he was also speculated to be ‘Gay’ without any substantial evidence.
Distinctive Features
Deep, penetrating gaze
Rudolph Valentino Facts
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6164 Hollywood Blvd posthumously on February 8, 1960.
The last words spoken by Valentino were (at the hospital), “Don’t pull down the blinds. I feel fine. I want the sunlight to greet me!”.
Inspired by his famous role as The Sheik, a brand of Sheik Condoms was launched in the 1930s featuring his silhouette on its packaging.
In 1978, a section of the Irving Boulevard in Hollywood, California was renamed the Rudolph Valentino Street in his honor.
He was named in Empire Magazine‘s list of ‘The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time’ at #80 in 1997.
Featured Image by Daniel Blum / Wikimedia / Public Domain