María Félix
Google’s latest Doodle
Google’s latest Doodle honours Maria Felix, the Mexican actor widely considered “the most beautiful face in the history of Mexican cinema”.
Felix, who died in 2002 at the age of 88, would have celebrated her 104th birthday today.
Also known as Maria Bonita, thanks to a song composed for her by her second husband, composer Agustin Lara, the star’s screen career spanned four decades and as many as 47 films.
A leading light of the so-called Golden Age of Mexican cinema, in the 1940s and 50s, Felix was the incarnation of the strong, sexual woman who would ultimately be tamed by a man by the end of a movie.
Felix was one of 16 children, born in the town of Alamos. She went to study in Guadalajara before moving to Mexico City, where she initially worked as a model for a plastic surgeon who used her to attract clients.
She starred in her first film, El Penon De Las Animas (1942), alongside Jorge Negrete, a famous actor whom she later married.
But it was her third movie, Dona Barbera, which turned her into a national star. It told the story of a young Venezuelan woman who ran a despotic ranch while dressed in men’s clothes.
In honour of her role, she was often known as La Dona until the end of her life.