MARIA FELIX
Name: Maria Felix
Birth name: Maria de los Angeles Felix Güereña
Born: 8 April 1914 Alamos, Sonora, Mexico
Died: 8 April 2002 Mexico City, Mexico
Maria Felix (April 8, 1914 - April 8, 2002) was an Mexican actress, one of icons
of the golden era of the Cinema of Mexico. She was commonly known, particularly
in her later years, by the honorific La Doña.
She was born Maria de los Angeles Felix Güereña in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico. There
is some dispute regarding Ms. Felix's date of birth. There is a large (but not
unanimous) opinion (shared by IMDb) that she was born on April 8, 1914, which
means that she died on her 88th birthday (April 8, 2002). However, her obituary
in the New York Times states that she was born on May 4, 1914, which would have
made her 87 at the time of her death on April 8, 2002. Some claim her birth
certificate supports the April 8, 1914 birthdate, although no actual evidence (such
as a copy of either the birth or the death certificate) has been presented as
concrete evidence .
Her father, Bernardo Felix, was of Yaqui descent. Her mother, Josefina Güereña,
was of Basque/Spanish origin and was educated in a convent at Pico Heights,
California.
Felix on the poster of her most defining film.
Felix'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 rôles offered by Cecil B. de
Mille (although some sources indicate that the real reason was her poor command
of the English language prevented her from working in Hollywood). Felix stated "I
was not born to carry a basket".
She worked in French, with greats such as Jean Renoir and Luis Bunuel, and
played in Italian films as well as in the Mexican cinema.
She lost the leading role of "Pearl Chavez" in the 1945 film Duel in the Sun,
although it was written with her in mind, to Jennifer Jones, reportedly due to
work commitments in Europe. As a result, she never achieved the fame in the USA
that she achieved in Latin America and Europe.
Name: Maria Felix
Birth name: Maria de los Angeles Felix Güereña
Born: 8 April 1914 Alamos, Sonora, Mexico
Died: 8 April 2002 Mexico City, Mexico
Maria Felix (April 8, 1914 - April 8, 2002) was an Mexican actress, one of icons
of the golden era of the Cinema of Mexico. She was commonly known, particularly
in her later years, by the honorific La Doña.
She was born Maria de los Angeles Felix Güereña in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico. There
is some dispute regarding Ms. Felix's date of birth. There is a large (but not
unanimous) opinion (shared by IMDb) that she was born on April 8, 1914, which
means that she died on her 88th birthday (April 8, 2002). However, her obituary
in the New York Times states that she was born on May 4, 1914, which would have
made her 87 at the time of her death on April 8, 2002. Some claim her birth
certificate supports the April 8, 1914 birthdate, although no actual evidence (such
as a copy of either the birth or the death certificate) has been presented as
concrete evidence .
Her father, Bernardo Felix, was of Yaqui descent. Her mother, Josefina Güereña,
was of Basque/Spanish origin and was educated in a convent at Pico Heights,
California.
Felix on the poster of her most defining film.
Felix'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 rôles offered by Cecil B. de
Mille (although some sources indicate that the real reason was her poor command
of the English language prevented her from working in Hollywood). Felix stated "I
was not born to carry a basket".
She worked in French, with greats such as Jean Renoir and Luis Bunuel, and
played in Italian films as well as in the Mexican cinema.
She lost the leading role of "Pearl Chavez" in the 1945 film Duel in the Sun,
although it was written with her in mind, to Jennifer Jones, reportedly due to
work commitments in Europe. As a result, she never achieved the fame in the USA
that she achieved in Latin America and Europe.