Guilmain, Ofelia (1921–2005)
Guilmain, Ofelia (1921–2005)
The Mexican actress Ofelia Guilmain, born on November 17, 1921, in Spain, starred in over 100 stage plays, 40 movies, and about 38 telenovelas (TV soap operas). A member of the "Guerrillas of Theater" troops during the Second Spanish Republic (1932–1939), she fled to Mexico after Franco took power in 1939. There, Guilmain began her career as a stage actress in Mujeres (Women) and went on to perform in radio shows, cinema, and television. In 1941 she married Lucilo Gutiérrez and took a decade off from acting to raise her four children. Two of her children, Lucía Guilmain and Juan Ferrara, followed in her footsteps and became actors. She is best remembered for her roles as a villainess and other strong female characters. She died of pneumonia on January 14, 2005. She was posthumously awarded the Medalla de Mérito (Medallion of Merit) at the Palacio de Bellas Artes during a ceremony held in homage of her sixty-five-year career.
See alsoCinema: From the Silent Film to 1990; Theater.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pascual, Carlos. Retablo rojo: El vida y obra y milagros de Ofelia Guilmain. Mexico: Oceano, 2006.
Sophia Koutsoyannis