Right: Mother and daughter at the Thalians tribute to Rita. |
Yasmin was born in Lausanne, Switzerland on December 28, 1949. Her parents were the most celebrated couple of the day. Unfortunately, they divorced when Yasmin was 3 years old. She later said "although their marriage didn't work out, their's was a truly good relationship." Aly Khan died in an auto accident when she was 10. Her first marriage was to a man named Basil Embiricos, with whom she had a son named Andrew. Yasmin hoped to begin a career as an opera singer, but just as her this was getting started, Rita became ill. Instead of going ahead with her career, Yasmin did what she said came naturally to her, she took care of Rita in her remaining years. Rita wasn't diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease until 1981. Yasmin wanted to help, so she has been associated with this cause ever since. In 1981, Alzheimer's was pretty much an unknown disease. Yasmin continues to work to promote awareness of the disease, in the hope that there will one day be a cure. She hosts many charity events and holds benefits to raise funding for Alzheimer's research. She organizes the annual Rita Hayworth Galas in New York and Chicago, which bring in millions of dollars for research. Yasmin has said that understanding the disease helped her get through the time her mother was ill. By continuing to work for this cause, I'm sure she's trying to pass on this knowledge to other families affected by Alzheimer's.
|
