Maria Luisa "Movita" Castaneda (April 12, 1916 – February 12, 2015) was an American actress best known for having been the second wife of actor

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

. In films, she played exotic women/singers, such as in '' Flying Down to Rio'' (1933) and ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935). She is the mother of Miko Castaneda Brando (b. 1961) and Rebecca Brando Kotlizky (b. 1966). __TOC__

Life and work

Movita, an American of Mexican descent, was born in

Nogales, Arizona Nogales (English: or , ; ) is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The population was 20,837 at the 2010 census and estimated 20,103 in 2019. Nogales forms part of the larger Tucson–Nogales combined statistical area, with a total populatio ...

, on a train traveling between

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and Arizona. Movita began her acting career singing the Carioca to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire's first dance number in the first film in which the famous duo appeared together, '' Flying Down to Rio'' (1933). She continued playing exotic women in American and Spanish language films in the 1930s, most notably as a Tahitian girl, Tehanni in '' Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935) alongside

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

and Franchot Tone. She played an island girl in ''

Paradise Isle ''Paradise Isle'' is a 1937 American film directed by Arthur Greville Collins with sequences shot in American Samoa. The film was produced by Dorothy Davenport under the name "Dorothy Reid" and was released by Monogram Pictures. The film stars M ...

'' (1937) and again in ''Girl from Rio'' (1939) with Warren Hull. She starred in the British thriller '' Tower of Terror'' (1941) alongside Wilfrid Lawson and Michael Rennie. After a break, she appeared as Henry Fonda's cook in '' Fort Apache'' (1948), then starred with

Tim Holt Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures. In a career spanning mo ...

in two further westerns: '' The Mysterious Desperado'' (1949) and '' Saddle Legion'' (1951). In 1939, Movita married the Irish boxer, singer and actor Jack Doyle in

. The marriage did not endure. After appearing in a few more minor westerns and a few television parts, she met the actor

in the late 1950s, after his breakup with

Anna Kashfi Anna Kashfi (born Joan O'Callaghan; 30 September 1934 – 16 August 2015) was a British film actress who had a brief Hollywood career in the 1950s but was better known for her tumultuous marriage to film star Marlon Brando and the controversies ...

. They married in 1960, and they had two children. Brando played the role of Fletcher Christian in the 1962 remake of the 1935 film in which Movita had played a Tahitian girl, Tehanni. Brando then married his co-star

Tarita Teriipaia Tarita Teriipaia (born 29 December 1941) is a French retired actress of French Polynesian and Chinese descent most famous for having been the third wife of actor Marlon Brando, whom she later divorced. For media and entertainment appearances and ...

in 1962. Castaneda's marriage to Brando was annulled in 1968 after it was discovered her previous marriage to Doyle was still active. After a small role on television in 1977, Movita appeared as Ana in 17 episodes of ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives ...

'' from October 1987 to May 1989.

Death

Castaneda died on February 12, 2015, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, after being hospitalized for a neck injury two months before her 99th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castaneda, Movita 1916 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Arizona American film actresses American television actresses American actresses of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American actresses Brando family People from Nogales, Arizona