Rose del Rosario Stagner, better known by her screen name Rosa del Rosario (December 15, 1917 – February 4, 2006), was a Filipino film actress of

Filipino-American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New S ...

descent.

Early life and education

She was born to an American father (Frank H. Stagner) and a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

mother from

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

(Aquilina del Rosario). She began studying at the age of seven and was enrolled in public schools. She attended Isabelo de los Reyes Elementary School until sixth grade. She studied at the Manila High School until tenth grade. She was an average student, although her grades fluctuated from time to time. She did odd jobs at bakeshops and sold cookies, siomai and empanada at the movie theaters, which enabled her to watch movie for free. Her film debut was at the age of fourteen when she was cast as the daughter of

Carlos Padilla Sr. Carlos Pedro Eugenio Ruiz Padilla Sr. (; September 6, 1909 - March 8, 1964) was a Filipino Olympic boxer and actor. Padilla was also a film director, with his first film being ''Susi ng Kalangitan'' which was made in 1937. Personal life From a ...

and

Alma Bella Alma Bella (13 March 1910, Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines – 11 May 2012, New York City) was a Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos to ...

in the horror film ''Satanas'' (1932). She starred in her first major movie ''Ligaw na Bulaklak'' (1932) opposite

Rogelio de la 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 ...

. She held the distinction of being the first actress to play the first Filipino superheroine on screen,

Darna Darna () is a Filipina superheroine created by writer Mars Ravelo and artist Nestor Redondo. The character's first appearance was in ''Pilipino Komiks'' (Ace Publications, Inc.) #77 on May 13, 1950. Darna is a retooling of Ravelo's earlier cha ...

(1951), followed by ''Darna at ang Babaing Lawin'' (1952). Among her memorable movies were ''Doktor Kuba'' (1933, with Patrocinio Carvajal), ''Minda Mora'' (1929) and ''Zamboanga'' (1937) both with Fernando Poe Sr., ''Nang Magulo ang Maynila'' (1937, with Domingo Principe), ''Himala ng Birhen sa Antipolo'' (1947, with

), ''Caprichosa'' (1947, with José Padilla Jr.), ''Tandang Sora'' (1947, with

Leopoldo Salcedo Leopoldo Salcedo (March 12, 1912 – June 11, 1998) was a Filipino film actor dubbed as "The Great Profile" who specialized in portraying dramatic heroes. Early life Salcedo was born in Cavite. His father was of Spanish descent whose family i ...

), ''Kumander Sundang'' (1949, with Efren Reyes) and ''Rosario Cantada'' (1951, with Ben Perez). She also starred in Hollywood films such as

Border Bandits Border Bandits is a 1946 American Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer. It is the nineteenth film in the "Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie" series, and stars Johnny Mack Brown as Jack McKenzie and Raymond Hatton as his sidekick Sandy Hopkins, w ...

(1946), an uncredited role in American Guerilla in the Philippines (1950) and ''Anna and the King of Siam''.

Personal life

She left the Philippines in 1956 and moved to

Novato, California Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

. She was married to John Samit and had two children named Geraldine and Terry. She was also the grandmother of two girls named Hannah and Sarah McEllistrim.

Filmography

* ''Satanas'' (1932) * ''Ligaw na Bulaklak'' (1932) * ''Tianak'' (1932) * ''Lantang Bulaklak'' (1932) * ''Doctor Kuba'' (1933) * ''Ang Mga Ulila'' (1933) * ''Mag-inang Mahirap'' (1934) * ''Anting-Anting'' (1934) * ''X3X'' (1934) * ''Anak ng Bilanggo'' (1934) * ''Sa Tawag ng Diyos'' (1934) * ''Ang Gulong ng Buhay'' (1935) * ''Anak ng Birhen'' (1935) * ''Awit ng Pag-ibig'' (1935) * ''Sumpa ng Aswang'' (1935) * ''Buhok ni Ester'' (1936) * ''Ama'' (1936) * ''Ang Birheng Walang Dambana'' (1936) * ''Gamu-Gamong Naging Lawin'' (1937) * ''Nang Magulo ang Maynila'' (1937) * ''Ang Kumpisalan at ang Batas'' (1937) * ''Taong Demonyo'' (1937) * ''Asahar at Kabaong (1937) * '' Zamboanga'' (1937) * ''Ligaw na Bituin'' (Filippine) (1938) * ''Kalapating Puti'' (Filippine) (1938) * ''Dalagang Silangan'' (Filippine) (1938) * ''Biyaya ni Bathala'' (Filippine) (1938) * ''Walang Sugat'' (Filippine) (1939) * ''Naglahong Dambana'' (1939) * ''Cadena de Amor'' (Sanggumay) (1940) * ''Buenavista'' (1940) * ''Paraiso'' (Excelsior)'' (1941) * ''Ilang-Ilang (LVN)'' (1941) * ''Ang Maestra (RDR)'' (1941) * ''Huling Habilin'' (1942) * ''

'' (Monogram) (1946) * '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

) (1946) * ''Bakya mo Neneng'' (Premiere) (1947) * ''Si Malakas at si Maganda'' (1947) * ''Bagong Sinderella'' (Premiere) (1947) * ''Caprichosa'' (Premiere) (1947) * ''Ang Himala ng Birhen sa Antipolo'' (LVN) (1947) * ''Hagibis'' (Premiere) (1947) * ''Hacendera'' (Phils Artists) (1947) * ''Tandang Sora'' (1947) * ''Bulaklak at Paruparo'' (Premiere) (1948) * ''Anak ng Panday'' (Premiere) (1949) * ''Kumander Sundang'' (Premiere) (1949) * ''Bulaklak ng Digmaan'' (Liwayway) (1950) * ''Aklat ng Pag-ibig'' (Balintawak) (1950) * ''Kundiman ng Luha'' (Balintawak) (1950) * '' American Guerilla in the Philippines'' (20th Century Fox) (1950) * ''Mag-inang Ulila'' (Royal) (1951) * ''Rosario Cantada'' (Royal) (1951) * ''

'' (Royal) (1951) * ''Singsing na Sinulid (Royal)'' (1951) * ''Darna at ang Babaing Lawin'' (Royal) (1952) * ''Neneng Ko'' (Lebran) (1952) * ''May Karapatang Isilang'' (Deegar Cinema) (1953) * ''May Bakas ang Lumipas'' (Ace York) (1954)

Death

Del Rosario died of pancreatic cancer on February 4, 2006, in

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

at the age of 88.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Del Rosario, Rosa 1917 births 2006 deaths Actresses from Manila Filipino child actresses Filipino film actresses Filipino people of American descent Filipino emigrants to the United States 20th-century Filipino actresses