Lupe Velez's career was far better than her love life. Her strong Mexican accent didn't stop her from surviving the transition from silent to sound movies, and she even introduced Spanish words into the films. Her peak performance came in with The Girl from Mexico , where she played a fiery singer married to an American. Her drama end came in , when she became pregnant with an Austrian extra who was leading a double life and Lupe resisted being a single mother.
Blinded by the impact that a religious woman like her could have on her career and reputation, she decided to commit suicide. That day, December 13, after throwing a party at her home, she wrote a farewell letter, dressed in her silk pajamas and surrounded herself with flowers.
Sixty-four pills of a powerful sedative put her to sleep so she would never wake up again. Skip to main content. Google Tag Manager. Lupe Velez, the "Mexican dynamite" who extended the topic of the explosive and "lethal" Latina "I'm not wild.
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In she played the lead role of Pepper in Hot Pepper This film showcased her comedic talents and helped her to show the world her vital personality. She was delightful. By now her popularity was such that a series of "Mexican Spitfire" films were written around her.
Audiences loved her in these madcap adventures, but it seemed at times that she was better known for her stormy love affairs. She married one of her lovers, Johnny Weissmuller , but the marriage only lasted five years and was filled with battles.
Lupe certainly did live up to her nickname. She had a failed romance with Gary Cooper , who never wanted to wed her. By her career was waning. She went to Mexico in the hopes of jump-starting her career.
Bolstered by the success of that movie, Lupe returned to the US, where she starred in her final film as Pepita Zorita, Ladies' Day There were to be no others. On December 13, , tired of yet another failed romance, with a part-time actor named Harald Maresch , and pregnant with his child, Lupe committed suicide with an overdose of Seconal.
She was only 36 years old. Her debut at Teatro Principal was a great success, especially because hours before her first show she was forbidden to act on stage she wasn't considered a "first-class" actress by the Mexican actors guild. This act of courage gave her instant support and caused her delayed debut to be expected by all Mexico.
After that, she was adored by everybody attending musical theater in the capital of Mexico. The start of her Hollywood career can be considered the most successful of all Mexican stars of that era.
She had no trouble transitioning from silents to talkies her most memorable films are those from the the "Mexican spitfire" series of the late '30s. On the other hand, her love life was a disaster; she never recovered from her failed romance with Gary Cooper, who never wanted to marry her. She was married to Johnny Weissmuller , but they divorced after five years.
Drugs and alcohol destroyed her life by the age of When she committed suicide at age 36, she was pregnant by young actor Harald Maresch. Sign In. Edit Lupe Velez. Showing all 41 items. It is easy to re-imagine the Velez starring in a Garry Marshall sitcom. Between and , there were five Mexican Spitfire sequels made, featuring Valdez as Carmelita Lindsay. Today, with the vast array of streaming platform outlets Mexican Spitfire could be turned into a phenomenally successful six-part mini-series.
The TV variety show, like the classic Carol Burnett Show , has been on the endangered species list for many years. But, Velez would be a natural hosting a variety show, showcasing her singing, dancing, Vaudeville, impersonation, and sketch comedy talents. No other current Latina superstar could pull it off. But alas, she lived in another time, another era. A highly publicized love affair with Gary Cooper , a marriage that ended in a bitter divorce, and other off-screen antics and eccentricities, proved damaging to her professionally and personally.
In another time, another era, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, these sorts of scandals ruined the careers of several female movie stars. Just ask Ingrid Bergman and Frances Farmer.
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