gone but not forgotten - dolores del río

ca. 1930

i thought this was cher!

 ca. late 1920s

by ernest bachrach, 1932. that dress is sooooo amazing

with orson welles fishing off catalina island, california, 1940. SO CHIC.

uh, she's in her 40s her, from the film "journey into fear"

the beauty.

born maría de los dolores asúnsolo y lópez negrete in durango mexico in 1904, del río was the second cousin of actor ramon novarro (so handsome). she was from a wealthy family but her family lost everything in the mexican revolution. 

she met and married jaime martinez del río, a scion of one of mexico's most important families in 1921 (she was 16 - he was  34) and they settled in mexico city.  she made her film debut in 1925 in joanna. in 1926 she was named one of the WAMPAS baby stars (along with newcomers joan crawford, fay wray, janet gaynor & mary astor). she would work steadily until the end of the silent era and was known for her great beauty. after divorcing her husband he moved to germany and committed suicide from depression in 1929.

in 1930 she married one of MGM'S leading art directors and production designers, cedric gibbons. their home would become a frequent meeting place for celebrities and high society.  once the talkies arrived her latin accent led executives to relegate her to smaller, unimportant roles. she appeared in bird of paradise with joel mcrea in 1932 directed by king vidor which was deemed scandalous due to her naked swim with mcrea. she went on to film flying down to rio with fred astaire & ginger rogers (1933), madame du barry (1934), and wonder bar (1934). in 1934 she became a victim of the "red" scare and was accused of promoting communism in california. her career would decline in the 1930s.

in 1940 she met orson welles who fell madly in love with her (the affair was the supposed cause of her divorce from gibbons in 1941 although many speculated gibbons was a homosexual). they were together for about 4 years - at welles' peak - and the relationship ended in 1943. welles would marry rita hayworth a year later although his daughter has said "my father considered her (del río) the great love of his life".

after breaking off with welles she went back to mexico city where she would achieve great fame. she won the silver ariel (mexican academy awards) as best actress four times. in 1959 she married lou riley, a former member of the hollywood cantina after being together for 10 years.

in 1960 she returned to hollywood and alternated between films, t.v. and theater between mexico and the u.s. throughout the 60s. she died on april 11, 1983 from liver disease at the age of 78 in newport beach, california.