Dolores del Río (Spanish pronunciation: [doˈloɾez ðel ˈrio]; born María de los Dolores Asúnsolo López-Negrete; August 3, 1905 – April 11, 1983), was a Mexican film actress. She was a Hollywood star in the 1920s and 1930s, and was one of the most important female figures of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. She was the first Latin American female star to be recognized internationally.During the 1920s and in Hollywood, Dolores was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time, in parallel to Rudolph Valentino. Her career flourished until the end of the silent era, with success in films such as Resurrection (1927) and Ramona (1928). She was one of the few superstars of the silent era to adapt to the talkies in Hollywood. In the 1930s, she was noted for her participation in musical films of the Pre-Code era like Bird of Paradise (1932), Flying Down to Rio (1933) and Madame Du Barry.When her Hollywood career began to decline, del Río decided to return to her native country and join the Mexican film industry, which at that time was at its peak.When del Río returned to Mexico she became the most important star of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. A series of films like Flor silvestre, María Candelaria (1943), Las Abandonadas and Bugambilia (1944) are considered classic masterpieces of the Mexican Cinema. Del Río was in force in the cinema of her country during the next three decades and returned to Hollywood only sporadically. Her long career also spanned theater and television. Along with Lupe Velez, Katy Jurado and Salma Hayek, del Rio completes the group of successful Mexican actresses in Hollywood.
April 11, 1983, Newport Beach, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Durango, Mexico
Height
5' 3½" (1.61 m)
Profession
Actress, Soundtrack
Nationality
Mexican
Spouse
Lewis Riley (m. 1959–1983), Cedric Gibbons (m. 1930–1941), Jaime Del Rio (m. 1921–1928)
Parents
Antonia Lopez-Negrete, Jesus Leonardo Asúnsolo Jacques
Partner
Orson Welles
Awards
Ariel Award for Best Actress, Ariel Award - Golden Ariel
Movies
Bird of Paradise, Flying Down to Rio, María Candelaria, Flaming Star, Journey into Fear, The Fugitive, Cheyenne Autumn, The Children Of Sanchez, The Loves of Carmen, In Caliente, What Price Glory?, Wonder Bar, Lancer Spy, Madame Du Barry, The Trail of '98, International Settlement, Bugambilia, The ...
Star Sign
Leo
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Quote
1
Beauty comes from the inside out. Creams are a waste of money if you don't take care of your health.
2
We have a public, the power to influence, and we have an enormous responsibility to use this influence. We have awakened to this responsibility in Mexico. We even have an actress, María Elena Marqués, who is a congresswoman. She works terribly hard and is up at 6, not to go to a studio, but to work for the people of her district.
3
A woman must be soignee. To be neat in every aspect requires considerable organization. But to me that is more important than being fashionable!
4
Beauty does not come with creams and lotions and all those silly things. It comes with good digestion, moderation in eating, a discipline in life.
5
Personally, I buy only what suits me. In the day time I dress very simply, but after 7 p. m. I dress dramatically. I usually wear a tiny nose veil on a cocktail hat. Men love it, and it seems to suit my face and personality.
6
I've never dieted in my life. Don't believe in it. Diets ruin a woman's health and appearance. Her face suffers. She looks drawn and haggard. I eat regular meals and eat anything and everything. Moderation is the key. I may eat cake; but I eat only a small slice.
7
That story about 14 hours' sleep is an exaggeration. I do have eight hours of sleep a night, however, and short naps whenever I can manage them in the day time.
8
[in 1960] The secret of youth is work, keep busy, and never be bored. Boredom is the only thing that ages you. You don't have to be young to be a star; today there's acting for all ages. Last year I tried the legitimate stage, have now done three plays. When I was a star in Hollywood, I had hundreds of offers from Broadway, but never took them seriously. Thoughts of facing an audience appalled me. Now I feel it's the ideal medium for an actress. I work in TV also but don't love It; I do it as a sort of discipline.
9
One of the legends you hear about me is that I sleep 16 hours a day. That is ridiculous. In the first place, it's physically impossible. Secondly, someone else would have to do my work . . . on the stage, in motion pictures . . . managing my home. I sleep nine hours.
10
My first beauty rule is to relax completely for 20 minutes each day without interruption-no matter what! I lie flat on the floor and "let go," relaxing completely from the toes up. Consequently, at 5 o clock, when everyone else is tired out I'm full of energy.
11
[on the transition from silent to sound films] Many big stars didn't survive. Their voices were too high, or they didn't speak English well enough. I survived, but it was difficult. I had to work very, very hard at my English.
12
When I returned to Mexico, I joined with people eager to create the Mexican cinema. We were full of dreams and had no money whatsoever, but we were able to achieve something and open markets for our films all over the world.
13
Take care of your inner beauty, your spiritual beauty, and that will reflect in your face. We have the face we created over the years. Every bad deed, every bad fault will show on your face. God can give us beauty and genes can give us our features, but whether that beauty remains or changes is determined by our thoughts and deeds.
14
[in the 1920s] Hollywood, what a place it is! It is so far away from the rest of the world, so narrow. No one thinks of anything but motion pictures or talks of anything else. And, I, too, am getting like the rest. I have not read anything for a year. I do not know what is happening in the world.
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Fact
1
In February 1934 it was announced in the press that Dolores Del Rio was tired of playing native girl roles and has bobbed her hair, had a permanent and put on swanky clothes for her upcoming RKO Radio Picture Dance of Desire. The movie eventually never was made.
2
Grand aunt of actor Adam Del Rio.
3
Reportedly slept for 16 hours a day to maintain her beauty.
4
Friend of Marlene Dietrich, who thought Dolores "the most beautiful woman in Hollywood".
5
Member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1962
6
Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1957
She contributed money to a statue likeness of her as the title character in Evangeline (1929). Upon completion in 1930, the statue was placed beside St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville, Louisiana. The statue rests on a spot marking the alleged burial place of Emmeline Labiche, who local lore claims was the inspiration behind Longfellow's tragic heroine. It has become a popular tourist attraction and is known as "The Evangeline Statue".
$5 Million
