María Luisa Paredes Bartolomé (3 April 1946 – 17 December 2024), known professionally as Marisa Paredes, was a Spanish actress with a long illustrious career. She acted in more than 75 films, 80 tv shows and 15 plays – with some of Europe's most important directors – and was the recipient of numerous awards.

Life and career

Paredes made her film debut in José María Forqué's 1960 film '' Police Calling 091''. She became a teen idol across Spain after that film. In 1961, she made her début in theatre and since then she has performed different plays such as ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' with Eduard Fernández. In 1975, she and

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

collaborated in a cartoon film about him, ''Rafael en Raphael''. She has participated in 73 films and television series. She portrayed the leading role of ''La Peregrina'' in a television production of Alejandro Casona's '' La dama del alba''.

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...

helped her to achieve her recognition, as she featured in many of his films, such as '' Dark Habits'' (1983), ''

High Heels High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels (colloquially shortened to heels), are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the we ...

'' (1991), '' The Flower of My Secret'' (1995), ''

All About My Mother ''All About My Mother'' () is a 1999 comedy-drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, and starring Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Penélope Cruz, Rosa Maria Sardà, and Fernando Fernán Gómez. Th ...

'' (1999) and ''

The Skin I Live In ''The Skin I Live In'' () is a 2011 Spanish psychological thriller film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet and Roberto Álamo. It is based on Thierry Jonquet's 1984 n ...

'' (2011). For her role in ''The Flower of My Secret'', she was nominated for the

Goya Award for Best Actress The Goya Award for Best Actress (Spanish: ''Premio Goya a la mejor interpretación femenina protagonista'') is one of the Goya Awards, Spain's principal national film awards. Since its inception, the award has been given to 26 actresses. At the 1 ...

. She appeared in several other acclaimed films, including '' In a Glass Cage'' (1986) by

Agustí Villaronga Agustí Villaronga Riutort (; 4 March 1953 – 22 January 2023) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed several feature films, a documentary, three projects for television and three shorts. His film ''Moon Child (1989 f ...

(Majorca), ''

Life Is Beautiful ''Life Is Beautiful'' (, ) is a 1997 Italian period comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who employs his imagin ...

'' (1998) by

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni ( , ; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing, and starring in the Holocaust comedy drama film ''Life Is Beautifu ...

(Italy), '' Deep Crimson'' (1996) by

Arturo Ripstein Arturo Ripstein y Rosen (born December 13, 1943) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Considered the "Godfather of independent Mexican cinema", Ripstein's work is generally characterized by "somber, slow-paced, macabre melodramas tackling ...

and ''

The Devil's Backbone ''The Devil's Backbone'' () is a 2001 gothic horror film directed by Guillermo del Toro, and written by del Toro, David Muñoz, and Antonio Trashorras. Set in Spain, 1939, during the final year of the Spanish Civil War, the film follows a b ...

'' (2001) by

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

(both from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

). In 1996, she was given the National Film Award by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. From 2000 to 2003 she was the president of the

Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España The Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain () is a professional organisation dedicated to the promotion and development of Cinema of Spain, Spanish cinema. Founded in 1986, it is responsible for the annual Goya Awards, Spain's princ ...

. In 2007, she was given at

Gijón International Film Festival The Gijón International Film Festival ( or ''FICXixón'') is an annual film festival held in Gijón, a city in northwest Spain. The festival is mainly concentrated on independent and auteur cinema. Gijón's International Short Film Competition ...

, a National Film Award named after Nacho Martinez. In the 1970s, she had a domestic partnership of about seven years with filmmaker

Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi Lasa (22 March 1927 – 28 September 2017) was a Spanish film director and producer. Isasi-Isasmendi began working in the production firm Emisora Films as an assistant manager, film editor, scriptwriter, lead producer, ...

, whom with she had one daughter, María Isasi. Between 1983 and her death, she had been in a relationship with Chema Prado. In 2023, she appeared in a small role as a woman known as "La República" in the Atresplayer series '' Vestidas de azul''. Paredes died from heart failure in Madrid, on 17 December 2024, at the age of 78. Her lying in repose was held on the next day at the Teatro Español. She will appear in a posthumous performance in ''Emergency Exit'', expected to be released in 2025.

Selected filmography

Awards and nominations

Screen Actors Guild Awards Fotogramas de Plata Union of Actors Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paredes, Marisa 1946 births 2024 deaths Actresses from Madrid Spanish film actresses 20th-century Spanish actresses 21st-century Spanish actresses