María Félix

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María Félix (April 8, 1914 - April 8, 2002) was a Mexican actress, one of the leading figures of the golden era of the Cinema of Mexico. She was commonly known, particularly in her later years, by the honorific La Doña.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Career 1.2 Relationships 1.3 In Music, Art and Fashion 2 Notable Quotes 3 Filmography 3.1 1940 – 1945 3.2 1946 – 1949 3.3 1950 – 1954 3.4 1955 – 1959 3.5 1960 – 4 Date of birth 5 External links

[edit] Biography

Born María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. Most reference works state that she was born on April 8 1914. She died on April 8 2002 in Mexico City of congestive heart failure. It was her 88th birthday.

Her father, Bernardo Félix, who was of Yaqui descent, and her mother, Josefina Güereña, of Basque Spanish origin, who was educated in a convent at Pico Heights, California.

[edit] Career

Félix's legendary career started in 1940, when she was approached on the street in Mexico City, where she was vacationing, by Fernando Palacios, who cast her in his 1943 film La China Poblana. She accepted despite the fact that she wasn't an actress and personally believed the story line was absurd. Although she had never acted before in her life, she accepted the challenge because Palacios convinced her that she had the " right look " for the part. The last copy of this film was lost during a fire and another copy has never been found.

Her first movie was El Peñón de las Animas in 1942, which placed her alongside Jorge Negrete, the number-one actor in Mexico at the time, catapulted her to fame. Throughout her long career she acted in 47 movies.

Her beauty and flamboyant personality propelled her to international stardom and icon status, in movies like Woman Without a Soul and La Generala, and especially Doña Bárbara.

She refused to work in Hollywood unless she made her grand entrance from the "big door" and not the small roles offered by Cecil B. de Mille. Félix replied "I was not born to carry a basket".

Although she worked in French and Italian films as well as in the Mexican cinema. She lost to Jennifer Jones the leading role of Pearl Chavez in the 1945 film Duel in the Sun, which was written with Maria in mind because she had work commitments in Europe. As a result, she never achieved the fame in the USA that she achieved in Latin America and Europe.

[edit] Relationships

María Félix's first husband was Enrique Alvarez, with whom she had a son, Enrique Alvarez Félix. She accused Alvarez of kidnapping their son following their divorce. She regained custody through help from her second husband, the composer Agustín Lara, whom she also divorced. She married actor Jorge Negrete and was shortly after widowed.

Her final husband was the French banker Alex Berger. Berger, through his company Monclova, helped finance the Mexico City subway system. According to María he did this to appease her. When he died she inherited his multi-million dollar thoroughbred horse racing stable which she successfully operated for sometime, winning prizes for the sport in France.

[edit] In Music, Art and Fashion

Agustin Lara wrote many songs for her, among them the famous María Bonita. It has been recorded by many singers including Placido Domingo. Other song writers also composed songs for her, like María de Todas las Marías by Juan Gabriel.

María was painted by many artists, including Diego Rivera, Leonor Fini, Leonora Carrington, Stanislao Lepri and Antoine Tzapoff. In 1949, Diego Rivera painted a portrait of her titled Muy Malo. It was originally intended to premiere in a retrospective on Rivera's work but Félix did not allow the painting to be displayed, as she never liked it. She later sold it and today it hangs in Juan Gabriel's Los Angeles residence.

In fashion, she was dressed by designers like Christian Dior and Balenciaga. The House of Hermes (Couture Department) designed extravagant creations just for her.

María was also a noted collector of fine antiques. She favored important pieces like her famous collection of Second Empire furniture. She was also a jewelery connoisseur and had an incredibly valuable jewelery collection. She liked large Harry Winston diamond solitaires, such as the 41.37 carat, D flawless Ashoka diamond, and she was a great fan of the House of Cartier. In 1968, Félix commissioned a serpent diamond necklace from Cartier Paris. The result was an impressive, completely articulated serpent made out of platinum and white gold and encrusted with 178.21 carats of diamonds. In 1975, she again asked Cartier to create a necklace for her, this time in the shape of two crocodiles. The two crocodile bodies were made of 524.9 grams of gold, one covered with 1,023 fancy yellow diamonds, while the other was adorned with 1,060 circular cut emeralds. Since her death, these pieces have been displayed as part of The Art of Cartier Collection in several museum exihibits around the world. In Félix's honor Cartier debuted in 2006 La Doña de Cartier collection, a watch with a wristband resembling the contours of a crocodile in large, bold gold scales. The collection also includes jewellery, accesories, and leather handbags.

[edit] Notable Quotes

María Félix had a quick wit. The following are statements made famous by her.

• "Diva is something made up, but I was not fabricated, life made me and it possibly made me very well."

• "In life I consider success inferior to celebrity. Success can be attained by many people, celebrity touches you and supports you through life."

• "Money is important in life. It does not give you happiness, we all know, but it sure calms the nerves."

• "My enemies are many and are bad; my friends are few and good."

• "Women will never be like men, although sometimes there are men with the heart of a woman. From the beginning of time, men have taken the largest piece of the pie. I have the heart of a man and that's why things have been good for me."

• "Don't give me advice, I can make mistakes alone."

• "The stars of today have no star-power and the actresses of today are disposable. They are models that can't even speak."

• "Some friends have told me that pearls make people cry. The only pearls that have made me cry were the fake ones."

• "A man has never made my life difficult, because I have never bet all my chips on only one man."

Reply given to jewelers attempting to confiscate a magnificent emerald necklace given to her by Jorge Negrete who died before fully paying it off:

• "What's given is given."

Statement given to upset fans and the press in Bogotá, Colombia, after an early exit from a musical performance:

• "Others have seen less and paid more."

Response to Argentine reporters' reaction on her being two hours late to a press conference:

• "Oh that's OK boys, to have waited for me."

Her reaction to Juan Gabriel's song, María de Todas las Marías:

• "If they compare you to La Virgen María, you always come out losing."

On beauty:

• "My job has been to be attractive."

• "In life it is not enough to be beautiful, but know how to be beautiful."

To reporters questioning her age:

• "I don't count the years, I only limit myself to living them"

• "Look, young lady, I have been very busy living my life and I've not had time to count it."

• "No, I don't fear getting old, but something more dangerous: the downfall of a woman. I don't fear gray hairs nor wrinkles, but the disinterest in living life".

Exchanges with reporters:

• "María, do you think you are a Queen Bee?"

Félix responds, "No, young lady, I AM".

• "María, are you the most beautiful women in Mexico?"

Félix responds, "You know I am NOT humble."

[edit] Filmography

[edit] 1940 – 1945

• El Peñón de las Ánimas
• María Eugenia
• Doña Bárbara
• La China Poblana
• La Mujer sin Alma
• La Monja Alférez
• Amok
• El Monje Blanco
• Vértigo

[edit] 1946 – 1949

• La Devoradora
• La Mujer de Todos
• Enamorada
• La Diosa Arrodillada
• Río Escondido
• Que Dios Me Perdone
• Maclovia
• Doña Diabla
• Mare Nostrum
• Una Mujer Cualquiera

[edit] 1950 – 1954

• La Noche del Sábado
• La Corona Negra
• Incantesimo Tragico - Hechizo Tragico
• Messalina
• Reportaje
• Camelia
• El Rapto
• French Can-Can
• La Pasión Desnuda

[edit] 1955 – 1959

• La Belle Otero
• Les Héros Sont Fatigués - Los Heroes Estan Fatigados
• La Escondida
• Canasta de Cuentos Mexicanos
• Tizoc: Amor Indio
• Flor de Mayo
• Faustina
• Miércoles de Ceniza
• Café Colón
• La Estrella Vacía
• La Cucaracha
• Sonatas
• La Fievre Monte A El Pao - Los Ambiciosos

[edit] 1960 –

• Juana Gallo
• La Bandida
• Si Yo Fuera Millonario
• Amor y sexo
• La Valentina
• La Generala

[edit] Date of birth

Ms. Félix's date of birth has been controversial because of a mistake made by certain newspapers when they reported an erroneous date of birth, and that she had died in the city of Cuernavaca, Mexico, all incorrect. However, her birth certificate states that she was born on April 8, 1914, which means that she died on her 88th birthday.

[edit] External links

• María Félix official website [1]
• María Félix at the Internet Movie Database
• Casa María Félix [2]
• http://mx.groups.yahoo.com/group/mariafelixporsiempre/