Esperanza Baur Díaz (born Esperanza Díaz Ceballos; July 17, 1920 – March 10, 1961) was a Mexican

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, and was the second wife of John Wayne.

Biography

Born Esperanza Díaz Ceballos, nicknamed "Chata", she appeared in a small number of

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in th ...

films, both in leading and supporting roles. Esperanza met John Wayne in 1941 in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

while he was vacationing there.Levy, Emanuell.
"John Wayne on Women, Marriage, and Family"
At the time, he was still married to his first wife, Josephine Alicia Saenz, but that marriage ended December 25, 1945. Esperanza and John were married on January 17, 1946, in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. Their marriage was rocky and volatile from the start because she was reportedly jealous of his devotion to his work and to his four children; they had no children of their own. "Our marriage was like shaking two volatile chemicals in a jar", Wayne said. Esperanza accused Wayne of having an affair with

Gail Russell Gail Russell (born Betty Gale Russell; September 21, 1924 – August 26, 1961) was an American film and television actress. Early years Gail Russell was born to George and Gladys (Barnet) Russell in Chicago and then moved to the Los Angeles ...

, his leading lady in ''

Angel and the Badman ''Angel and the Badman'' is a 1947 American Western film written and directed by James Edward Grant and starring John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey and Bruce Cabot. The film is about an injured gunfighter who is nursed back to health by a ...

'', which he denied. There were charges and counter-charges of unfaithfulness, drunken violence, emotional cruelty, and "clobbering". Wayne described his wife as a "drunken partygoer who would fall down and then accuse him of pushing her." Esperanza was accused of having an affair with hotel heir

Nicky Hilton Nicholai Olivia Rothschild ( Hilton, October 5, 1983) is an American socialite, fashion designer and model. She is a member of the Hilton family by birth, and a member of the Rothschild family through her marriage to James Rothschild, a grands ...

during divorce proceedings. They separated in May 1952;Tracey, Grant.
The Trouble in Trouble Along the Way
- ''Images Journal'' in the end the marriage lasted eight years, coming to an end on November 1, 1954. Esperanza died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in 1961.

Filmography

* '' Guadalajara'' (1943) – Hortensia * '' The Count of Monte Cristo'' (1942) * ''

Una luz en mi camino ''Una luz en mi camino'' is a 1939 Mexican drama film directed by José Bohr. It stars Narciso Busquets, Consuelo Frank, Virginia Fábregas and Pedro Armendáriz Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings (May 9, 1912 – June 18, 1963) was a Mexic ...

'' (1939) * '' La Valentina'' (1938) – Valentina * '' Jalisco Nunca Pierde'' aka ''Jalisco Never Loses'' (1937)

References

External links

*
Genealogy.com

Emanuel Levy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baur, Esperanza 1920s births 1961 deaths 20th-century Mexican actresses Actresses from Mexico City John Wayne