María Félix

"Maria de los Angeles Felix" redirects here. For a telenovela, please see Maria de los Angeles. For the actress’ filmography, see María Félix filmography.

María Félix
Born	María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña (1914-04-08)8 April 1914 Álamos, Sonora, Mexico
Died	8 April 2002(2002-04-08) (aged 88) Mexico City, Mexico
Other names	La Doña
Years active	1940–1971
Spouse(s)	Enrique Álvarez Alatorre (1931–1938; divorced) Agustín Lara (1943–1947; divorced) Jorge Negrete (1952–1953; his death) Alex Berger (1956–1974; his death)
Partner(s)	Diego Rivera Antoine Tzapoff
Children	Enrique Álvarez Félix Diana Negrete (stepdaughter) Rocío Durán (adopted daughter)
Parents	Bernardo Félix Josefina Güereña

María Félix (8 April 1914 – 8 April 2002) was a Mexican actress, considered by many to be the most iconic leading lady of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, known for her larger-than-life, tough film characters. She was nominated for five Ariel Awards, of which she won three for Enamorada, Río Escondido, Doña Diabla and a special Golden Ariel Award for her contribution to cinema. She was more commonly known, particularly in her later years, by the honorific La Doña.

Early life

María was born María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. There is some dispute regarding the actress’s date of birth. There is some opinion that she was born on 8 April 1914, which means that she died on her 88th birthday. However, her obituary in The New York Times states that she was born on 4 May 1914, which would have made her 87 at the time of her death on 8 April 2002. Some claim her birth certificate supports the 8 April 1914 birthdate, although no actual evidence (such as a copy of either the birth or the death certificate) has been presented as concrete evidence.^{[citation needed]}

She was the ninth of twelve children born to Bernardo Félix, a Yaqui; and Josefina Güereña, who was Spanish. Her siblings were: Josefina, (María de la) Paz, Bernardo, Miguel, (María de las) Mercedes, Fernando, (María del) Sacramento, Pablo, Victoria Eugenia, Ricardo and Benjamin. She showed a strong temperament and preferred playing with boys rather than girls, which upset her sisters. During her teens, she reportedly had an incestuous relationship with her brother Pablo, who later was admitted to the Colegio Miltar in Mexico City, but died mysteriously soon after admission. The authorities claimed he committed suicide.

In 1931 she married Enrique Álvarez Alatorre, a seller of Max Factor whom she met in Guadalajara. He was the father of her only child, also actor Enrique Álvarez Félix. The couple divorced in 1938. She lived for a time at home with her parents until 1939, when she travelled with her son to Mexico City. However, soon after, her ex-husband took their son, whom she recovered in 1943.

Career

María Félix was discovered by businessman Fernando Palacios in Mexico City. The Calderón Brothers, famous film makers in Mexico, led her to Hollywood, where she met Cecil B. DeMille, who offered her work in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. María refused, wishing to work in Mexico. Palacios introduced her to the film maker Miguel Zacarías, who would give her the opportunity of starring in El Peñón de las Ánimas alongside Jorge Negrete.

In 1943, she starred in Doña Bárbara, directed by Fernando de Fuentes and inspired in the novel of the Venezuelan writer Rómulo Gallegos. De Fuentes increased her popularity with such films as La Mujer sin Alma (1944) and La Devoradora (1946); the latter film made her the vamp of Mexican cinema during the 1940s. She declined work in Hollywood, claiming that Americans would only offer her Native American roles; as a result, she never achieved the fame in the United States that she achieved in Latin America and Europe. The role of "Pearl Chavez" played by Jennifer Jones in the 1945 film Duel in the Sun was reportedly written with Maria Felix in mind.

In 1945, Félix filmed Vértigo, directed by Antonio Momplet. According to Félix, because of this movie, she and Dolores del Río mistook their paths for a brief period of time. The film had been written for Del Río, but by mistake, the messenger sent the film to Félix. Meanwhile, Del Río finished filming the movie La Selva de Fuego. In 1946, she came under the influence of director Emilio Fernández, with whom she made the films Enamorada (1946), Río Escondido (1947) and Maclovia (1948), launching her career throughout Europe.

María Félix in La Valentina (1966)

She worked in Spain in Mare Nostrum (1948), Una mujer cualquiera, La Noche del Sábado (1950) and the Spanish-French film La Couronne Noire (1951). Later she moved to Italy where she filmed Messalina (1951, directed by Carmine Gallone) and Incantessimo Tragico (1951). In 1952 she work in Argentina, in the film La Pasión Desnuda, directed by Luis César Amadori. In 1953 she returned to México to film El Rapto, the last film of her third husband, Jorge Negrete.

In France, she worked with Jean Renoir in the successful film French Cancan (1954) with Jean Gabin, and in Les Heros sont Fatigues (1955) with Yves Montand. She returned to Mexico in 1955, and filmed successful films like The Hidden One (1955) with Pedro Armendáriz, Tizoc (1956) with Pedro Infante and The Soldiers of Pancho Villa (1959) with Dolores del Río. In later years, her films were inspired by the Mexican Revolution (1961), La Valentina (1966), and La Generala (1970), her last film. Her last films made abroad were Beyond All Limits (Mexican-American production, 1957) with Jack Palance, Faustina (Spain, 1957), Sonatas (Spain, 1957) directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and La Fièvre Monte à El Pao (French-Mexican production, 1959) directed by Luis Buñuel.

Relationships

María’s family tree

María’s first husband was the Max Factor seller Enrique Álvarez Alatorre, father of her only child. The couple married in 1931 and divorced in 1938.

Her second husband was the famous Mexican musician and composer Agustín Lara. She met him in 1943, and married in 1945. In the honeymoon in Acapulco, Lara composed her the famous song María Bonita (Pretty María). She achieved international fame with this song. The couple divorced in 1947.

Her third husband was the Mexican actor and singer Jorge Negrete. They met in 1942, during the shooting of El Peñón de las Ánimas and had mutual dislike. The situation changed when María returned to Mexico from Spain in 1953. However, Negrete was deathly suffering from liver cirrhosis, and died in Los Angeles, 11 months after their marriage.

Her last husband was a French banker, Alex Berger, whom she married in 1956. Berger owned thoroughbred horses, achieving notable success with the colt Nonoalco who won four Group One races including the 1974 British Classic, the 2,000 Guineas. When Berger died in 1974, Félix inherited his multi-million dollar thoroughbred horse racing stable.

In music, art and fashion

Song writers composed songs for María, like María de Todas las Marías by Juan Gabriel. Félix was painted by many artists, including Diego Rivera, Leonor Fini, Leonora Carrington, and Bridget Tichenor.

In 1949, Diego Rivera painted a portrait of her, which Félix classified as "muy malo" ("really bad"). This portrait was originally intended to première in a retrospective on Rivera's work, but Félix did not allow the painting to be displayed, as she never liked it. She reportedly eventually sold it.

In fashion, Félix was dressed by designers like Christian Dior, Givenchy, [Yves Saint Laurent (brand)|Yves Saint Laurent], Chanel, and Balenciaga. The House of Hermès (Couture Department) designed extravagant creations just for her. She was a noted collector of fine antiques, favoring pieces like her famous collection of Second French Empire furniture. She was also a jewellery connoisseur and had an extensive jewelry collection, including the 41.37 carat (8.274 g), D-flawless Ashoka diamond. In 1968, she commissioned a serpent diamond necklace from Cartier Paris. The result was a completely articulated serpent made out of platinum and white gold and encrusted with 178.21 carats (35.642 g) 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 yellow diamonds, while the other was adorned with 1,060 circular cut emeralds.^{[citation needed]}

Since Félix’s death, these jewellery pieces have been displayed as part of The Art of Cartier Collection in several museums around the world. To pay tribute to the actress, in 2006 Cartier debuted its La Doña de Cartier collection. The La Doña de Cartier watch with reptilian links was created to impress by its wild look. The case of the La Doña de Cartier features a trapezoid shape with asymmetrical profile reminding a crocodile’s head. The wristband of the watch resembles the contours of a crocodile in large, bold and gold scales. The La Doña de Cartier Collection also includes jewellery, accessories and handbags.

Death

María Félix died on 8 April 2002 in Mexico City from cardiac arrest. Her remains were interred in the city's Panteón Francés.

Filmography

Main article: María Félix filmography

Sources

Bibliography

• Felix, María (1994). Todas mis Guerras. Clío. ISBN 968-11-0556-7. 
• Agrasánchez Jr., Rogelio (2001). Bellezas del cine mexicano/Beauties of Mexican Cinema. Archivo Fílmico Agrasánchez. ISBN 968-5077-11-8. 
• Taibo I., Paco Ignacio (1986). María Félix: 47 pasos por el cine. Editorial Planeta. ISBN 968-406-283-4. 

External links

• Maria Félix: "La Doña"
• María Félix at the Internet Movie Database
• María Félix official website
• Casa María Félix
• María Félix por siempre (Spanish)
• María Félix at Find a Grave