Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was the first true heartthrob of Hollywood, nicknamed The Latin Lover. Born in Italy in 1895, Valentino immigrated to the United States at the age of 18 and worked a variety of odd jobs before finding success as a dancer and, later, an actor. In Hollywood, he starred in a series of films in the 1920s that cemented his status as a cultural icon, including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) and The Sheik (1921). Women swooned at the sight of him on screen, and he quickly became a sex symbol for a generation. He faced criticism and ridicule from the press for his style of dress and his perceived lack of masculinity. Tragically, Valentino's life was cut short at the age of 31 due to complications from appendicitis, which caused mass hysteria among his fans including suicides and riots.