Dolores Marquez Clark, better known by her screen name Lolita Rodriguez (January 29, 1935 – November 28, 2016), was a multi-awarded actress in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. She was paired with

Eddie Arenas Eddie Arenas (July 7, 1935 – March 31, 2003) was a Philippines, Filipino actor. He made numerous films for the film studio Sampaguita Pictures. He was often paired with Lolita Rodriguez, whom he married and later divorced. He eventually moved t ...

in ''Gilda'' (1956), in which she won her first

FAMAS Award The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (also known as the FAMAS Awards) are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of award-winning writers and movie columni ...

for Best Actress. Rodriguez was born to an American father and Filipina mother.

Career

In 1953, at the age of 18, she entered the movie industry. Her first movie was in

Sampaguita Pictures Sampaguita Pictures was a Philippine film production company. It was named for the Philippine national flower, sampaguita. Though no longer functioning, the company's Sampaguita Compound remains in Quezon City. History Sampaguita Pictures was es ...

''Ating Pag-ibig'' (1953) starring

Tita Duran Teresita Rigo Durango Magalona (born Teresita Rigo Durango; September 30, 1928 – April 27, 1990), known professionally as Tita Duran, was a Filipina film actress who began as a child actress. She was the first successful child star of Philipp ...

and

Pancho Magalona Enrique Gayoso Magalona Jr. (January 22, 1922 – April 7, 1998), popularly known as Pancho Magalona, was a Filipino actor from the 1940s to the 1970s. Early life Born Enrique Gayoso Magalona Jr. in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, he was the son of ...

, followed by ''Apat Na Taga'' (1953), ''Cofradia'' (1953), Mr. Kasintahan (1953), ''Sabungera'' (1954), Pilya (1954) with

Gloria Romero Gloria Romero may refer to: *Gloria Romero (actress) Gloria Anne Borrego Galla (born December 16, 1933), known professionally as Gloria Romero (), is a multi-awarded Filipino actress, regarded as the “Queen of Philippine Movies”, her care ...

and Ric Rodrigo, ''Jack And Jill'' (1955) with

Dolphy Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. (; July 25, 1928 – July 10, 2012), better known by his stage names Dolphy, Pidol, and Golay, was a Filipino comedian and actor. He is widely regarded as the country's "King of Comedy" for his comedic talent embodied ...

and

Rogelio dela Rosa Regidor Lim de la Rosa"Filipinos in History Vol. 3", page 75. (November 12, 1916 – November 26, 1986), professionally known as Rogelio de la Rosa, was one of the most popular Filipino matinee idols of the 20th century.Garcia, J., ''A Movie Qu ...

, ''Binibining Kalog'' (1955) with

Ramon Revilla Ramon Bautista Revilla Sr. (born Jose Acuña Bautista; March 8, 1927 – June 26, 2020), popularly known simply as Ramon Revilla Sr., was a Filipino actor who served as Senator of the Republic of the Philippines. He was known as the "''Hari ng ...

, ''Tanikalang Apoy'' (1955) with

Paraluman Sigrid Sophia Agatha de Torres von Giese, better known by her screen name Paraluman (December 14, 1923 – April 27, 2009), was an award-winning Filipina German actress. Her contemporaries include the likes of Fernando Poe, Sr. and Carmen Rosal ...

, ''Kanto Girl'' (1956) with Oscar Moreno, and ''Alipin Ng Palad'' (1959) with

Luis Gonzales Luis F. Mercado (June 21, 1928 – March 15, 2012) also known as Luis Gonzales, was a Filipino actor who appeared in more than 100 films during his career, most of them by Sampaguita Pictures. Early life Raised in Tondo, Manila, Gonzales may ...

. She also appeared in action films including ''Tarhata'' (1957), ''Kilabot Sa Makiling'' (1959), ''Kapitan Lolita Limbas'' (1961) with Greg Martin,

Eddie Garcia Eduardo Verchez Garcia (; May 2, 1929 – June 20, 2019), known colloquially as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, film director and producer. With almost 600 film and television roles and a career spanning seven decades, he ...

Lito Legaspi Lito Legaspi (born Ludovico A. Legaspi, September 10, 1941 – September 8, 2019) was a Filipino actor both in movies and television in the Philippines. He was the father of actors Zoren Legaspi, Kier Legaspi, and Brando Legaspi. He won Gawad U ...

and Josephine Estrada, and ''Diegong Tabak'' (1962). After Sampaguita, she continued her work in cinema whenever a good role beckoned. At the 1968 Manila Film Festival, she was the Best Actress awardee for ''Kasalanan Kaya?'', and also at the 1971 Catholic Mass Media Awards for ''Stardoom''. Her most enduring achievement was starring in

Lino Brocka Catalino Ortiz Brocka (April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991) was a Filipino film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and significant filmmakers in the history of Philippine cinema. He co-founded the organization Concerned Art ...

's 1974 drama, ''

Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang ''Weighed But Found Wanting'' ( Filipino: ''Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang''; also known as ''Human Imperfections'' ) is a 1974 Filipino drama film directed by Lino Brocka. The films stars Christopher De Leon (in his debut role), Hilda Koronel, Lolita ...

''. In 1979, she performed stage play ''Larawan'' playing Candida, at Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA). She appeared in more than 85 movies in drama, comedy and action. During the same year, she made two important films with National Artist Lino Brocka with two equally-superb actresses - Charito Solis in ''Ina, Kapatid, Anak'' and Nora Aunor in ''Ina Ka ng Anak Mo'', an entry in the 5th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). The latter screen collaboration eventually made her share the best actress award with the Superstar. She made a screen comeback in 1985 in Amazaldy Films' "Paradise Inn", an entry in 10th MMMF, sharing equal billing with Vivian Velez. In 1991, she did a movie-made-for-television entitled, ''Lucia'' directed by Mel Chionglo.

Personal life

She is daughter of an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

father, William Charles Clark, and a Filipino mother, Carmen Marquez. Rodriguez was born in

Urdaneta, Pangasinan Urdaneta, officially the City of Urdaneta ( pag, Siyudad na Urdaneta; ilo, Siyudad ti Urdaneta; fil, Lungsod ng Urdaneta), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populati ...

. She married, and later divorced Eddie Arenas, also from

. They have three children: Maria Dolores (Birdie), Eduardo Jr. (Bogey), and Maria Carmen (Par). All three are married with families of their own. The singer, Radha, is Bogey's oldest daughter. Rodriguez and her children migrated to the US in 1977 to be with her mother and siblings.

Death

Lolita died of stroke on November 28, 2016, aged 81, at her home in

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundin ...

Awards and nominations

Movies

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Lolita 1935 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Filipino actresses Actresses from Pangasinan Filipino emigrants to the United States Filipino film actresses Filipino people of American descent Filipino television actresses People from Laguna (province) People from Urdaneta, Pangasinan