María Félix

María Félix was discovered by businessman Fernando Palacios in Mexico City. The Calderón Brothers, famous filmmakers in Mexico, led her to Hollywood, where she met Cecil B. DeMille, who offered her work in the Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. María refused, wishing to work in Mexico. Palacios introduced her to the filmmaker Miguel Zacarías, who would give her the opportunity of starring El Peñon de las Animas alongside Jorge Negrete. Read Less

In France, she worked with Jean Renoir in the successful film French Cancan (1954) with Jean Gabin, and in Les Heros sont Fatigues (1955) with Yves Montand. Read Less

Berger owned thoroughbred horses, achieving notable success with the colt Nonoalco who won four Group One races including the 1974 British Classic, the 2,000 Guineas. When Berger died in 1974, Félix inherited his multi-million dollar thoroughbred horse racing stable.

Agustín Lara wrote many songs for her, among them "María Bonita". It has been recorded by many singers including Plácido Domingo. Other song writers also composed songs for her, like María de Todas las Marías by Juan Gabriel. Félix was painted by many artists, including Diego Rivera, Leonor Fini, Leonora Carrington, and Bridget Tichenor.

In 1949, Diego Rivera painted a portrait of her, which Félix classified as "muy malo" ("really bad"). This portrait; was originally intended to premiere in a retrospective on Rivera's work, but Félix did not allow the painting to be displayed, as she never liked it. She reportedly eventually sold it. Read Less