Gloria Marín

Gloria Méndez Ramos was the daughter of dancer María Laura Ramos Luna (who used the artistic name Laura Marín) and businessman Pedro Méndez Armendáriz, and a cousin of actor Pedro Armendáriz. She began her career at age six, alongside her mother who ran a theater company in Mexico City. She also worked later in the Mayab and in the carpa of Santa María la Ribera where the comedian Joaquín Pardavé offers her first opportunity in the cinema.[1][2]

She debuted in the film Los millones de Chaflán (1939). At age 15, she married the official Arturo Vargas (forwarding agent). She made 19 films between 1938 and 1941. She performed with Cantinflas in El gendarme desconocido in 1941.

That same year she met Jorge Negrete in the filming of ¡Ay, Jalisco, no te rajes!, when she was 22 and he 30 years old. Although Negrete was already married, they both had a chemistry both on and off the camera which became evident in the film.[3] After the movie they remained friends, but when Negrete returned from New York to film his next movie, they began a stormy relationship that lasted ten years.[4] They lived together but ever married, talking about their relationship as a 'marriage' and later a 'divorce' after 1952, when they separated. In 1951 they adopted a daughter, Virginia. They co-starred in 10 films together.

Marín was nominated for a Silver Ariel Award for her performance in Si Adelita se fuera con otro. In 1942, she appeared with Fernando Soler in ¡Que hombre tán simpático!. She also appeared with Arturo de Córdova in the films El conde de Montecristo (1942) and Crepúsculo (1945). She married actor Abel Salazar in Mexico City on 31 May 1958; the couple divorced in 1960.[5]

She won two Diosas de Plata Awards for her work in the movies Mecánica nacional (1972) and Presagio (1974). For 30 years, Gloria starred in several telenovelas like La hiena, Los hermanos Coraje and La maldición de La Blonda, among others. She starred in several stage plays such as Debiera haber obispas, Tan cerca del cielo and La jaula de cristal. Her last notable role was as the Mother Superior in the telenovela Mundo de juguete.

Marín died at the Hospital Español in Mexico City on 13 April 1983, six days before her 64th birthday, because of emphysema. She was interred at Panteón Jardín.[1][2]

• Gloria Marín at IMDb