Stella Garcia (born July 6, 1942) is an American actress who appeared in the films ''

The Private Lives of Adam and Eve ''The Private Lives of Adam and Eve'' is a 1960 Spectacolor comedy film starring Mickey Rooney (who also co-directed), and Mamie Van Doren. It is an American B-movie in which the plot revolves around a modern couple who dream that they are Adam ...

'', ''

Change of Habit ''Change of Habit'' is a 1969 American crime drama musical film directed by William A. Graham and starring Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore. Written by James Lee, S.S. Schweitzer, and Eric Bercovici, based on a story by John Joseph and Ric ...

'', ''

The Last Movie ''The Last Movie'' is a 1971 metafictional drama film directed and edited by Dennis Hopper, who also stars in the leading role as a horse wrangler named after the state of Kansas. It is written by Stewart Stern, based on a story by Hopper and Ste ...

'', and ''

Joe Kidd ''Joe Kidd'' is a 1972 American Western film starring Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall, written by Elmore Leonard and directed by John Sturges. The film is about an ex-bounty hunter hired by a wealthy landowner named Frank Harlan to track down ...

''.

Career

Early roles

Garcia's first film role was in the early 1960s in The ''Private Lives of Adam and Eve''. In 1963, she had a small part in the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

film ''

Fun in Acapulco ''Fun in Acapulco'' is a 1963 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley and Ursula Andress. The film featured the Top 10 ''Billboard'' hit "Bossa Nova Baby" and reached No. 1 on the national weekly box office charts a week after the ass ...

'' as the Señorita at Torito's.

Success

At the beginning of the 1970s, she was cast in the film ''The Last Movie'' (1971) which was the second directorial effort for Dennis Hopper, who had just finished ''

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American independent drug culture road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American So ...

''. In the film she played Hopper's girlfriend. The review from ''Variety'' included positive recognition for her part in the movie. This impressed Universal Studios, who cast her as the female lead in the western ''Joe Kidd'', starring Clint Eastwood. Her role in the film was that of Helen Sanchez, a Mexican-American activist who was the lover of Luis Chama, played by

John Saxon John Saxon (born Carmine Orrico; August 5, 1936 – July 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Westerns and horror films, often playing ...

. Her performance received positive reviews, especially from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. In spite of the attention she attracted for ''The Last Movie'' and ''Joe Kidd'', her career in films subsequently began to decline. She appeared in one other film during the 1970s, the

Albert Band Albert Band (May 7, 1924 – June 14, 2002) was a French-American film director and film producer. He was the son of artist Max Band, father of filmmaker Charles Band and of film composer Richard Band and the grandfather of Alex Band, Taryn Ba ...

-directed '' She Came to the Valley'', as a Christmas party guest.

Later years

In 1996, she played the part of Maria in the film '' Eye for an Eye'' which starred Sally Field and Kiefer Sutherland. Her final film role was in 1997, as a South African businesswoman in the film '' Playing God''. She attended the April 25, 2014 screening of Dennis Hopper's ''The Last Movie'' at

Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest ...

, Hollywood, California. Garcia arrived at the event with

Jodi Wille Jodi Wille is an American film director, curator, and book publisher known for her work exploring American subcultures. Filmmaking and Photography Wille directed and produced '' The Source Family'' (2013), her first feature-length documentary, wit ...

, director of the documentary ''The Source Family''. Three of Dennis Hopper’s four children were also at the event.graphics8.nytimes.co
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Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Stella 20th-century American actresses Living people Hispanic and Latino American actresses 1942 births 21st-century American women