Anita Ellis (née Kert, later Shapiro; April 12, 1920 – October 28, 2015) was a Canadian-born American singer and actress.

She graduated from Hollywood High School in 1938,[5] and attended the College of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio.

[5] Ellis dubbed the singing voices of such actresses as Rita Hayworth (notably in Gilda, 1946), Vera-Ellen and Jeanne Crain.

[7] Twenty-eight years after Gilda was released, entertainment writer Rex Reed reminisced in print about Ellis's voice: "I fell in love with Anita Ellis when I was 8 years old ... Only I didn't know she was Anita Ellis, I thought she was Rita Hayworth ... That was the sexiest voice in 1946, and it kept turning people on for years ..."[8] For her work in Gilda, her role in the film was greatly underplayed and kept secret by the producers, who wanted fans to believe Hayworth was the singer.

[citation needed] (Two sources list Ellis as one of the vocalists on Skelton's show, without the "guest" modifier.

[16] In 1957, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen wrote: "Anita Ellis ... has surprised everyone with her new jazz singer style.

[18] A newspaper article in 1979 reported that Ellis had suffered from stage fright for more than 25 years.

Sinai Hospital's department of neurology received a $1 million gift to support strategic priorities from her estate.