María Esther Fernández González (23 August 1915 – 21 October 1999) was a Mexican actress.

Life and career

Esther Fernández began her career as an extra in the film '' La Mujer del Puerto'' (1934). Her first starring role was in the early horror film ''El baúl macabro'' (Miguel Zacarías, 1936). Her beauty and charisma drew the attention of film director

Fernando de Fuentes Fernando de Fuentes Carrau (December 12, 1894 – July 4, 1958) was a Mexican film director, considered a pioneer in the film industry worldwide. He is perhaps best known for directing the films ''El prisionero trece'', ''El compadre Mendoza'', an ...

, who gave her the female lead role of Crucita in the rural musical ''

Allá en el rancho Grande ''Allá en el Rancho Grande'' ( en, Out on the Great Ranch) is a 1936 Mexican romantic drama film directed by Fernando de Fuentes and starring Tito Guízar and Esther Fernández. The film is considered to be the one that started the Golden Age ...

'' (1936), opposite

Tito Guizar Tito may refer to: People Mononyms *Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman *Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journal ...

. Some critics consider the unexpected success of this film throughout Latin America as marking the start of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. During the rest of the 1930s, Fernández played mostly ingénues in movies like ''Mi candidato'' (1938), with

Joaquín Pardavé Joaquín Pardavé Arce (30 September 1900 – 20 July 1955) was a Mexican film actor, director, songwriter and screenwriter of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He was best known for starring and directing various comedy films during the 1940 ...

and Pedro Armendàriz, and ''Los de abajo'' (1939), with

Isabela Corona Isabela Corona''Cronología de Teatro en México - 1926/10 (in Spanish) (July 2, 1913 – July 8, 1993) was a Mexican actress. She debuted during the first decade of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Biography Isabela Corona was born as Refugi ...

and

Emilio Fernández Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Romo (; 26 March 1904 – 6 October 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best kn ...

. She caught the attention of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, which had already contracted Tito Guizar, and earned her a contract to work in Hollywood. Though she trained for two years as a starlet, the Paramount studio executives never cast her in a movie and she returned to Mexico. In 1943 Fernández was cast to play the title character in the second sound version of the classic Mexican film ''

Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

'', directed by

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

and co-starring

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...

, then at the start of his film career. The couple and the director reunited to make ''

The Escape The Escape may refer to: Film and television * ''The Escape'' (1914 film), American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith * ''The Escape'' (1926 film), American silent film * ''The Escape'' (1928 film), American film * ''The Escape'' (1939 f ...

'' (1944), based on a Guy de Maupassant story. In 1946 Fernández was finally able to star in a Paramount film ''

Two Years Before the Mast ''Two Years Before the Mast'' is a memoir by the American author Richard Henry Dana Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage from Boston to California on a merchant ship starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the ...

.'' She played a Mexican-American woman returning to California from Spain for an arranged marriage. However, although it was the only important female character, the adventure film focused on the male cast, headed by

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...

and

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...

Brian-Donlevy-Esther-Fernandez-Alan-Ladd-Two-Years-Before-the-Mast

Fernández continued her career in Mexico, starring in films like ''Flor de durazno'' (1945), ''

Ramona ''Ramona'' is a 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and ...

'' (1946), ''

Cantaclaro ''Cantaclaro'' is a 1946 Mexican drama film directed by Julio Bracho and starring Esther Fernandez, Antonio Badú and Alberto Galán. The film is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Rómulo Gallegos. The film's sets were designed by the ar ...

'' (1947), ''Solo Veracruz es Bello'' (1948), ''

Doña Perfecta ''Doña Perfecta'' (1876) is a 19th-century realist novel by Benito Pérez Galdós from what is called the first of Galdós's three epochs in his novels of social analysis. Plot summary The action occurs in 19th century Spain, when a young l ...

'' (1950), playing the daughter of Dolores del Rio, and ''Los Hijos del Rancho Grande'' (1956). Fernández became romantically involved with the actor and singer

Antonio Badú Antonio Badú (August 13, 1914 – June 29, 1993) was a Mexican film actor and producer.de la Mora p.90 He appeared in more than sixty films during his career, which began during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Selected filmography * '' ¡Ay qu ...

and during this period often co-starred with him. She was absent from acting for two years, due to hepatitis. When she returned, the producers had forgotten her and stopped offering her movies. During her retirement years, she was dedicated to painting. In 1989, Fernández returned to stardom in the Mexican

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

'' Simplemente María''. In 1992, she returned to the cinema with the film ''Los Años de Greta'', opposite Beatriz Aguirre and

Meche Barba Meche Barba (born Mercedes Barba Feito; September 24, 1922 – January 14, 2000) was an American-born Mexican film actress and dancer of the Golden age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. She was considered one of the icons of the "Rumbera ...

. Her last appearance was in the film ''Reclusorio II'' (1997).Agrasánchez Jr. (2001), p. 42-45 Fernández died of natural causes in 1999.

Partial filmography

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Esther 1915 births 1999 deaths Golden Age of Mexican cinema Mexican film actresses Mexican television actresses 20th-century Mexican actresses Actresses from Jalisco Mexican expatriates in the United States Expatriate actresses in the United States