Acclaimed as the female Rudolph Valentino, Dolores del Río starred in more than 50 full-length motion pictures including Flying Down to Rio (1933), Journey Into Fear (1942), Las Abandonadas (1944), Doña Perfecta (1950), and El Niño y la Niebla (1953). With her first husband, millionaire Jaime Martínez del Río, she traveled around the world, learned several languages and moved to Hollywood. She had an intense love life, marrying three times and having affairs with Gilbert Roland and Orson Welles, among others. In 1942, when her career started to decline, she returned to Mexico City. Del Rio dropped her "femme fatale" image and through Gabriel Figueroa's camera and Emilio Fernández's direction she helped create the so-called Mexican Cinema Golden Era, winning the Ariel (the Mexican equivalent of the Academy Award) three times, in 1946, 1952, and 1954. In her later years, her work with orphan children was highly praised.

Further Reading:

Gonsior, Marian C. "Dolores Del Rio." In Latinas! Women of Achievement, edited by Diane Telgen and Jim Kamp. Detroit, Visible Ink Press, 1996.

Ramon, David. Dolores del Rio. Mexico, Clio, 1997.

Reyes, Aurelio de los. Dolores Del Rio. Ciudad de Mexico, Grupo Condumex, Fernandez Cueto Editores, 1996.