Born: January 19, 1897 (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Died: June 5, 1966 (Pasadena, California)

Famous For/Known For:
Wife of Rudolph Valentino and famed costume designer.

A Little About Natacha Rambova:
Born to an alcoholic father, it wasn’t long before Natacha mother left her marriage and moved the family to San Francisco where she started a career in interior design.

Natache was thrown out of her first boarding school due to “unbecoming behavior of a lady.” She was then sent to a British boarding school where she took classes in design, drawing, mythology and ballet.

When she was 17 Natache began dating, Theodore Kosloft, a ballet dancer who was 32 and married. Natache’s mother tried getting Kosloft deported by filing charges against the dancer. This led to Kosloft and Natache fleeing to Europe. They refused to come back to the United States until Natacha’s mother dropped the charges, which she eventually did and the two moved to New York.

Around 1920 Natacha was hired by Alla Nazimova, a Russian actress, as an artistic director. Her duties were to design sets and costumes. Kosloft did not approve so when Natacha tried to leave him he shot her in the leg. She never reported this incident to police but fortunately was able to leave Kosloft.

In 1922 she married Rudolph Valentino, an Italian born American actor who she met while working on his movie set. Although Valentino had obtained a divorce he did not wait a year between marriages, which was the law and ended up being thrown in jail and charged with bigamy. The couple eventually divorced in 1926.

Natacha starred in her first film, When Love Grows Cold,  which was released in 1927. She was highly insulted as the film name had been changed (it was supposed to be titled Do Clothes Make The Woman) and she had been publicized as Mrs. Rudolph Valentino. She never acted or worked on another film after that.

In 1926 while Natacha was in France she and Valentino reconciled via telegram. Unfortunately Valentino died a few days later.

Also in 1926 she published a book, Rudy: An Intimate Portrait By His Wife, Natacha Rambova.

In 1927 Natacha opened a couture shop in New York City on 5th Avenue.

Natacha Rambova died from a heart attack at the age of 69.

Books About/Written By Natacha Rambova:

Madam Valentino: The Many Lives of Natacha Rambova

Rudolph Valentino: A Wife’s Memories of an Icon

Beyond Valentino: A Madam Valentino Addendum

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Reference: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0708118/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm