With the marriage under strain, Valentino began shooting and Rambova announced that she needed a " marital vacation ".

Right before World War I broke out, Rambova returned to San Francisco where she clashed with her mother once again and insisted she would pursue ballet as a career.

Aunt Teresa intervened, offering to move with Rambova to New York where she could study under Kosloff.

Nazimova was impressed and when she asked for revisions to some costumes, Rambova took out a pencil and began to make the revisions, showing that she had done the work.

By this point in Valentino's career the press began to blame Rambova for his missteps, claiming she was controlling and power hungry.

Rambova blamed the story, which she claimed had a war element when they originally agreed to make the picture ; but the studio removed it fearing it would offend European audiences.

Rambova was reportedly so upset that the distributor promoted the film with her name as " Mrs. Valentino " that she never acted in film again.

With her husband in Mallorca, Rambova began a business of buying up old villas and modernizing them for tourists ; a venture she financed with her inheritance from her stepfather who had died in 1928.

After divorcing her second husband, Rambova remained in France, where she remained until the Nazi invasion, at which point she returned to New York.

When Rambova began work in film costume design she took to researching historical accuracy for her designs.

Rambova loathed the world of high society, and even though her mother had married well she refused to live off her stepfather's money, insisting on making her own living.

When Valentino died Rambova wrote a book about the time she had spent with him, and also her claims to be in contact with him in the afterlife via psychics.

When Rambova was offered a position by Nazimova she was finally able to leave Kosloff.

Valentino was known as an excellent cook, while actress Patsy Ruth Miller suspected Rambova didn't know " how to make burnt fudge ," although the truth was she did occasionally bake and was an excellent seamstress.

Rambova complained during their trip to Italy, and she never got along with either of his siblings.

After signing with United Artists ( which stipulated Rambova could not be present on Valentino's sets or take part in his films ), Rambova turned cold and ignored her husband's 30th birthday, mocking him for staying home all day while she went to work ( he was waiting for his contract to finalize ), sparring with him in public, embarrassing him in front of Hollywood elite on the night of his ' Rudolph Valentino Medal ' ceremony, and eventually cheating on him with her cameraman on What Price Beauty?

Rambova fled to Nice, where she suffered a heart attack at age 40.

In 1977, she played Rudolph Valentino's second wife Natacha Rambova in Ken Russell's film Valentino.

She appeared in a 1964 episode of Dr. Kildare (" Tyger Tyger ") and later appeared in numerous television series and made-for-television movies, one of which is The Legend of Valentino ( 1975 ), wherein she played Rudolph Valentino's second wife, Natacha Rambova.

Naldi and Valentino were never romantic, and she would be one of the few to befriend his wife Natacha Rambova though that friendship would sour when the Valentinos divorced.

It was on this film that Valentino met his second wife, Natacha Rambova.

The film, mostly under the control of Rambova and Nazimova, was considered too avant garde by critics and the public.

The tour was a tremendous success with Valentino and Rambova performing in 88 cities in the United States and Canada.

While Rambova worked designing costumes and rewriting the script for Falcon, Valentino was persuaded to film Cobra with Nita Naldi.

Toward the end of their marriage, Rambova was banned from his sets by contract.

The end of the marriage was bitter, with Valentino bequeathing Rambova one dollar in his will.

In fact, the marriages to Acker and Rambova, as well as the relationship with Pola Negri, only serve to add to the suspicion that Valentino was gay and that these were " lavender marriages ", as all have documented lesbian relationships.

Valentino left his estate to his brother, sister, and Rambova's aunt Teresa Werner, who was left the share originally bequeathed to Rambova.

He was looking for a leading lady for Cobra, the first independent project he and his wife Natacha Rambova were producing.

Natacha Rambova ( January 19, 1897 – June 5, 1966 ) was an American silent film costume and set designer, artistic director, screenwriter, producer and occasional actress.

Rambova was born Winifred Shaughnessy in Salt Lake City.

Rambova was adopted by her stepfather, making her legal name Winifred Hudnut.

Rambova was rebellious, and mocked her stepfather for being passive.

Rambova was gifted at ballet, and trained with Rosita Mauri at the Paris Opéra during the summers.

Rambova joined him and was dismayed to find herself as part of Kosloff's " arty harem ".

Rambova was determined to bring the art deco look to America, as it was transforming film making in Europe.

Valentino negotiated a slightly better contract and was now earning more than Rambova.

It was also the last film Nazimova and Rambova would work on together.

The pictures were damaging to Valentino's image, and also were seen as evidence that he was carrying on with Rambova during his divorce from Acker.

He complained to Rambova that everything from the sets to the cast was cheap.

Rambova was credited under her legal name Winifred Hudnut.

Rambova was angry and erupted in tears.