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Lucille Silvia Derbez Amézquita, better known as Silvia Derbez (March 8, 1932 – April 6, 2002) was a Mexican film and
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
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 ...
. She competed in Miss Mexico 1952 where she came in 4th place.


Life and career

Derbez was born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, the daughter of María de la Luz Amézquita and French-born businessman Marcel Derbez Gilly. She debuted in Mexican film as a
teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
r, participating in her first movie at the age of 15, when she acted in '' La Novia del Mar'' (''Girlfriend of the Sea''), filmed in 1947. In 1948, she participated in a classic of Mexican cinema: '' Allá en el Rancho Grande'' (''Out on the Big Ranch''). She was in three more movies before the decade of the 1940s had ended, including the classic ''cabaretera'' film noir '' Salón México''. Derbez became a celebrity, both nationally and internationally, during the 1950s, an era in which she recorded sixteen films. Between 1951 and 1954, Derbez retired from filming, but she was in ten movies from 1954 to 1956. With television becoming popular in Mexico, Derbez was signed by
Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
to play "Nora" in the 1958
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
, ''
Senda prohibida ''Senda Prohibida'' (English title: ''Forbidden Path'') is the first telenovela produced in Mexico. It was produced by Telesistema Mexicano and was broadcast June 12, 1958, from Monday to Friday. It stars Silvia Derbez as the protagonist / antag ...
'' (''Forbidden Way''). In 1959, Derbez got the title role in another soap opera, ''
Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay uses a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presen ...
''. Derbez acted in seventeen telenovelas during the 1960s, many of them in which she starred. Among the soap operas she made during that decade was '' Maria Isabel I'', where she once again played the title role. She returned to cinema in 1969, participating in three movies between then and 1970. During the 1970s, her work rate on television slowed slightly. She made twelve telenovelas during that time. Among the telenovelas that she participated in was 1970's '' Angelitos negros'' (''Black Angels''), as a nanny. She also acted in 1971's '' El derecho de los hijos'' (''Your Children's Rights'') and '' La Recogida'' (which loosely translates to ''The Picked up Woman''). In 1975, she acted in a movie, '' El Andariego'' (''The Walker''). As Derbez began to age, her work rate numbers began to decline, and during the 1980s, she acted in only six telenovelas and four movies. In 1986, her husband, Eugenio González Salas, a publicist, died. Nevertheless, Derbez recovered from that personal loss and participated in one of
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
's most famed telenovelas of all time, '' Simplemente Maria'', in 1989. In ''Simplemente Maria'', Derbez acted alongside Victoria Ruffo, who would soon become her daughter in law. ''Simplemente Marias 1989 version was popular in countries such as
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
and
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. During the 1990s, Derbez's son
Eugenio Derbez Eugenio González Derbez (; born September 2, 1961) is a Mexican actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films and television series including '' The Book of Life, The Angry Birds Movie 2 and The Secret Life of Pets.'' In the 2010s, he ap ...
became famous as a television comedian. He and Ruffo got married. Derbez made three movies during the early 1990s, including 1993's '' Zapatos Viejos'' (''Old Shoes''), where she acted alongside singer
Gloria Trevi Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz (born February 15, 1968), known as Gloria Trevi (), is a Mexican singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, television hostess, music video director and businesswoman known as "The Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop". ...
. In 1994, Derbez was in ''
Prisionera de Amor ''Prisionera de amor'' (English title: ''Prisoner of love'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Pedro Damián for Televisa in 1994. Maribel Guardia and Saúl Lisazo starred as protagonists, while Julieta Egurrola, Lorena Meritano, Rosario Gálv ...
'' (''Prisoner of Love''), and in 1995, she played "Milagros" in ''
Lazos de Amor ''Lazos de amor'' (English title: ''Τies of love'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Carla Estrada for Televisa in 1995. It stars Lucero (entertainer), Lucero and Luis José Santander. Plot The series centers around María Guadalupe, María ...
''. Those two soap operas became popular among
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
viewers in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Derbez once again returned to cinema acting after ''Prisionera de Amor'' and ''Lazos de Amor'', acting in three movies before returning to television as "Leonor" in '' Los hijos de nadie'' (''Nobody's Children''). In 1998, she participated in another highly acclaimed Mexican telenovela, '' La usurpadora'' (''The supplanter''), which starred
Gabriela Spanic Gabriela Elena Španić Utrera (born December 10, 1973), known simply as Gabriela Spanic, is a Venezuelan actress and singer. She's known for her roles in several Latin telenovelas, most notably her portrayal of twins in '' La usurpadora'' (1998 ...
. Her last work as an actress came in 2001's version of Caridad Bravo Adams' '' La intrusa'' (''The Intruder'').


Death

On April 6, 2002, aged 70, from
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...
.


Family

She had one son, Eugenio, and a daughter, Silvia Eugenia. Her granddaughter, Aislinn Derbez, is an actress. Two other grandchildren, Vadhir Derbez and José Eduardo Derbez, are actors as well.


Filmography


External links


Silvia Derbez
at the Telenovela database {{DEFAULTSORT:Derbez, Silvia 1932 births 2002 deaths Mexican people of French descent Mexican film actresses Mexican stage actresses Mexican television actresses Mexican telenovela actresses People from San Luis Potosí 20th-century Mexican actresses Deaths from lung cancer in Mexico