Soledad Rendón Bueno (9 July 1943 – 18 August 1970), better known by her stage names Soledad Miranda or Susann Korda (or sometimes Susan Korday), was an actress and pop singer who was born in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

, Spain. She starred in several erotic thriller films directed by

Jess Franco Jess is a unisex given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Jessica, Jesse, Jessie, etc., and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Jess Atkinson (born 1961), American football player * Jess Cain (1926–2008), American radio host * J ...

in 1969 and 1970, such as ''

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some ...

'' (1970) and ''

Vampyros Lesbos ''Vampyros Lesbos'' ( es, Las Vampiras) is a 1971 West German-Spanish erotic horror film directed and co-written by Jesús Franco. The film stars Ewa Strömberg as Linda Westinghouse, an American who works in a Turkish legal firm. Westinghouse h ...

'' (1970). She also released numerous Spanish-language pop songs throughout the mid-sixties. She died in a car accident on a

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

highway at age 27, in August 1970, just as she was about to sign a new film contract with Franco's producer, Karl Heinz Mannchen.

Biography

Early life

Soledad Miranda was born Soledad Rendón Bueno on 9 July 1943 in

, Spain. Soledad (whose name translates as ''solitude'' or ''loneliness'') was the niece of the famous Spanish singer-actress-flamenco dancer

Paquita Rico Francisca Rico Martínez (13 October 1929 – 9 July 2017), better known as Paquita Rico, was a Spanish film actress and singer. She appeared in 30 films between 1948 and 1983. She starred in the film ''Let's Make the Impossible!'', which w ...

. At age 8, Miranda made her professional debut when she was hired as a

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura a ...

dancer and singer, first in the "Youth Galas" at the

Seville Fair The Seville Fair (officially and in es, Feria de Abril de Sevilla, "Seville April Fair") is held in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain. The fair generally begins two weeks after the Semana Santa, or Easter Holy Week. The fair officially be ...

and San Fernando theatre, and then on a tour throughout southern Spain.

Career

At age 16, Miranda moved to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and drew an artistic stage name out of a hat. She made her film debut in 1960 as a dancer in a musical called ''La Bella Mimí''. She was often in the tabloids as the rumored girlfriend of the most famous bullfighter of the time, Manuel Benítez (

El Cordobés Manuel Benítez Pérez (born 4 May 1936), more commonly known as ''El Cordobés'' (The Cordovan), is a Spanish bullfighter, matador, and actor active in the 1960s who brought an unorthodox acrobatic and theatrical style to the bullring. Career ...

). Miranda went on to appear in over 30 films from 1960 to 1970. There were epic adventures ('' Ursus'', ''

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

''); horror films ('' Sound of Horror'', '' Pyro''); dramas (''Canción de cuna'', '' Currito de la Cruz''); comedies (''Eva 63'', ''La familia y uno más''); and even a

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

(''

Sugar Colt ''Sugar Colt'' is a 1966 Italian and Spanish Spaghetti Western directed by Franco Giraldi, produced by Franco Cittadini and Stenio Fiorentini, written by Sandro Continenza, Augusto Finocchi, Giuseppe Mangione and Fernando Di Leo, composed b ...

''). She also released a couple of

yé-yé ''Yé-yé'' () (''yeyé'' in Spanish) was a style of pop music that emerged in Western-Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term "''yé-yé''" was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music bands such as ...

pop records in the mid-1960s, many of which are available on YouTube. After taking nearly two years off to raise her son (see "Personal life"), she returned to acting with a role in the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

100 Rifles ''100 Rifles'' is a 1969 American Western film directed by Tom Gries and starring Jim Brown, Raquel Welch and Burt Reynolds. It is based on Robert MacLeod's 1966 novel ''The Californio''. The film was shot in Spain. The original music score w ...

'' (1969). She went on appear in additional films and in Spanish television shows. Director

, for whom Miranda had done a small role in his musical '' Queen of the Tabarin Club'' nearly a decade before, made Miranda his frequent star in films including ''

'', '' Eugenie de Sade'', ''

'', '' She Killed in Ecstasy'', ''Nightmares Come at Night'' and '' The Devil Came from Akasava''. Since Franco's films involved explicit nudity, Miranda took the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Susann Korda (alternately spelled Susan Korday or Susan Korda) during this period.

Personal life

In 1964, Miranda had made a trio of films in Portugal. José Manuel da Conceiçao Simões, a Portuguese racecar driver, was a producer and also acted in them. In one of the films, ''Un día en Lisboa'' ''(A Day in Lisbon)'', they played a couple traveling between

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has h ...

and

. After a secret courtship, the pair married in 1966. In April 1967, Miranda gave birth to a son, Antonio. Her husband retired from racing and took a job in the

auto industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...

. On the morning of 18 August 1970, after completing the filming of ''The Devil Came from Akasava'', Miranda and her husband were involved in a

collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great fo ...

with a small truck near Lisbon. Simões suffered minor injuries, but Miranda died as a result of major head and back trauma. She and Jess Franco had started filming her next project (''Justine'') which he abandoned after her death. He had also planned to feature her in his 1970 film, ', which he made later with a different actress.

Filmography

* 1960 '' Queen of the Tabarin Club'' as Duchess (uncredited) * 1961 '' Ursus'' aka ''Ursus, Son of Hercules'' as Fillide * 1961 ''La bella Mimí'' as First Dancer * 1961 ''Canción de cuna'' as Teresa * 1963 ''

The Castilian ''The Castilian'' (in Spanish ''El valle de las espadas'') is a 1963 independently made biographical film drama in Eastmancolor, produced by Sidney W. Pink, directed by Javier Setó, that stars Cesar Romero, Frankie Avalon, Broderick Crawford, Al ...

'' as Maria Estevez * 1963 ''Eva 63'' as Soledad * 1963 ''Cuatro bodas y pico'' as Mari-Luci * 1963 ''Bochorno'' as Piluca * 1963 ''

The Daughters of Helena ''The Daughters of Helena'' (Spanish: ''Las hijas de Helena'') is a 1963 Spanish comedy film directed by Mariano Ozores and starring Isabel Garcés, Antonio Ozores and Laura Valenzuela.Rodríguez p.407 Cast * Isabel Garcés as Doña Helena * Anton ...

'' as Mari Pó * 1964 '' Pyro... The Thing Without a Face'' as Liz Frade * 1964 ''Los gatos negros'' / ''A canção da Saudade'' as Babá * 1964 ''Un día en Lisboa'' as Herself (documentary short) * 1964 ''Fin de semana'' (''Weekend'') as Sonsoles * 1964 '' Sound of Horror'' as Maria * 1965 ''Playa de Formentor'' as Sandra * 1965 '' Currito of the Cross'' as Rocío Carmona * 1965 ''La familia y uno más'' as Patricia * 1966 ''

He's My Man! ''He's My Man!'' (Spanish:''¡Es mi hombre!'') is a 1966 Spanish comedy film directed by Rafael Gil and starring José Luis López Vázquez, Soledad Miranda and Mercedes Vecino.Bentley p.69 Cast * José Luis López Vázquez as Antonio Jiménez ...

'' as Leonor Jiménez * 1966 ''The Mimí del Franval'' as Susan * 1966 ''

'' as Josefa * 1967 ''

'' as Nessa * 1968 '' Comanche blanco'' as India (uncredited) * 1969 ''

'' as Girl In Hotel * 1969 ''Estudio amueblado 2-P'' as Maribel * 1969 ''Soltera y madre en la vida'' as Paloma * 1969 ''Lola la piconera'' as Rosarillo * 1969 ''Nightmares Come at Night'' as Neighbor's Girlfriend * 1969 ''Sex Charade'' as Anne (a lost film, never released) * 1970 ''

'' as

Lucy Westenra Lucy Westenra is a fictional character in the 1897 novel ''Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. The 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy family, she is Mina Murray's best friend and Count Dracula's first English victim. She subsequently transforms into a vam ...

* 1970 '' Cuadecuc/Vampir'' (documentary) as Herself * 1970 '' Eugenie de Sade'' as Eugénie Radeck de Franval * 1970 ''

'' aka "Las Vampiras" as Countess Nadine Carody (as Susann Korda) * 1970 '' She Killed in Ecstasy'' (a.k.a. ''Mrs. Hyde'') as Mrs. Johnson * 1970 '' The Devil Came from Akasava'' as Jane Morgan * 1970 ''Juliette'' (uncompleted, a lost film)

Discography

* Soledad Miranda – Belter 51.451 (1964) * Soledad Miranda – Belter 51.598 (1965)

References

Literature

* Brown, Amy: ''Soledad Miranda: A Treasure Lost'', in: Sirens of Cinema Magazine, Winter 2003 * Lucas, Tim: ''The Black Stare of Soledad Miranda'', in European Trash Cinema, 1991 * Overzier, Gregor: ''Soledad Miranda/Susann Korda'', in: Norbert Stresau, Heinrich Wimmer (Hrg.): Enzyklopädie des phantastischen Films, 70. Ergänzungslieferung, Corian, Meitingen 2004

External links

* * *
Sublime Soledad

Soledad Miranda: Soledad y Santitad
by Amy Brown �
BCult
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miranda, Soledad 1943 births 1970 deaths Spanish actresses Road incident deaths in Portugal Spanish film actresses Spanish women pop singers Spanish people of Portuguese descent 20th-century Spanish actresses 20th-century Spanish singers 20th-century Spanish women singers