Mexican-American stage and screen actress, comedian, singer, dancer, and vedette, nicknamed ‘The Mexican Spitfire’ for her emotional and fiery temperament. She was one of the first successful Latin American actresses in the United States.
Vélez began her career as a performer in Mexican vaudeville in the early 1920s. After moving to the United States, she made her first film appearance in a short film in 1927. By the end of the decade, in the last years of American silent films, she had progressed to leading roles in numerous movies like The Gaucho (1927), Lady of the Pavements (1928) and Wolf Song (1929), among others.
During the 1930s, her well-known explosive screen persona was exploited in a series of successful films like Hot Pepper (1933), Strictly Dynamite (1934) and Hollywood Party (1934). In the 1940s, Vélez’s popularity peaked after appearing in the Mexican Spitfire films, a series created to capitalize on Vélez’s well-documented fiery personality.
Vélez’s personal life was as colourful as her screen persona. She had several highly publicized romances and a tempestuous marriage to Johnny Weismuller from 1933 to 1939 as well.
On the night of 13 December 1944, she had her makeup and hair done and was dressed up to be beautiful. However, in the early hours of the next day she overdosed on 70 Seconal pills and a glass of brandy in a room filled with flowers in Beverly Hills, California. She did not die from the overdose directly. The story goes that she began to throw up, and, as she dashed to the toilet, slipped in her own vomit. She hit her head on the toilet bowl and was knocked unconscious. Falling into the toilet, she drowned. Another report states that her secretary, Beulah Kinder, found the actress’ body on her bed later that morning.
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