Rosa María Juana Martínez Suárez (born 23 February 1927), known by her stage name Mirtha Legrand (; from the French , "the great"), is an Argentine actress and television presenter. With an 80-year career, Legrand is one of the most recognized entertainment figures in Argentina. Legrand made her leading role debut in ''

Los martes, orquídeas ''Los martes, orquídeas'' (''On Tuesdays, Orchids'') is a 1941 Argentine black and white comedy film of the Golden Age directed by Francisco Múgica and starring Mirtha Legrand, Enrique Serrano, Juan Carlos Thorry and Nuri Montsé. It won the A ...

'' (1941) at only age 14, and soon became one of the definitive actresses of the

Golden Age of Argentine cinema The Golden Age of Argentine cinema (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Época de Oro del cine argentino'' or other equivalent names), sometimes known interchangeably as the broader classical or classical-industrial period (Spanish: ''período clásico- ...

, with numerous starring roles in the 1940s and 1950s. Legrand is also widely known for her interview television programme (''Having Lunch with Stars''), which first aired in 1968 on Alejandro Romay's Channel 9. The show was later renamed (''Having Lunch with Mirtha Legrand'').

Early life and career

Legrand was born on 23 February 1927 in

Villa Cañás Villa Cañás is a small city in the south of the , some 370 km from Santa Fe, Argentina, the provincial capital and not far from Venado Tuerto. It has about 9,817 inhabitants as per the . The city was founded in 1902 by Juan Cañás, and ac ...

. She and her twin sister

Silvia Silvia () is a female given name of Latin origin, with a male equivalent Silvio and English-language cognate Sylvia (given name), Sylvia. The name originates from the Latin word for forest, ''Silva'', and its meaning is "spirit of the wood"; the m ...

were born to José Martínez, a librarian, and Rosa Suárez, a school teacher. They had a sibling named José Antonio. Their parents were Spanish. When they separated in 1934 Rosa moved to

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

with her three children, where the Legrand sisters took classes of singing and dancing. In 1936 they moved to the

La Paternal La Paternal or Paternal () is a ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, neighborhood'' or district in the centre of Buenos Aires city, Argentina. It was founded in 1904 by a city decree (''decreto'') and was named 'La Paternal' after the San Martín Line (Buen ...

neighborhood in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. Legrand began her career in the

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

of 1939 when she participated in a contest organised by the ''Diario de Cine'' programme (''Cinema Diary'') at ''Belgrano Radio''. She rose to fame in the late 1930s and early 1940s, during the golden era of the Argentine film industry that resembled the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

one. Rosa María's stage name ''Mirtha Legrand'' was coined by her agent Roberto Cerebello when she was 14 years old. Legrand's film debut was in '' Educating Niní'', which also had the participation of

Niní Marshall Marina Esther Traveso (June 1, 1903 – March 18, 1996), known by her stage name Niní Marshall, was an Argentine humorist, comic actress and screenwriter; nicknamed ''The Chaplin with a skirt'' and ''The Lady of Humour''. She is one of the m ...

and Legrand's sister Silvia.

Personal life

While filming ''Cinco besos'' in 1945, Legrand met

Daniel Tinayre Daniel Tinayre (14 September 1910 – 24 October 1994) was a French-born Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer notable for his work during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema (1930s–1950s) a ...

, a director of French origin. Legrand married Tinayre on 18 May 1946. They had two children, Daniel Andrés, born in 1947, and Marcela, born in 1950. Legrand and Tinayre were married until Tinayre's death in 1994. Tinayre had been diagnosed with

hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...

in September 1994 and died a month later. Their son Daniel died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

in 1999.

Selected filmography

Her cinematographic career spanned more than 25 years from 1939 to 1965. She participated in 36 films of Argentina and Spain, including: * ''1940: Educating Niní'' () * ''1941:

'' () * 1941: ''Soñar no cuesta nada'' (Spanish: ''To Dream Costs Nothing'') * 1942: ''

Adolescencia ''Adolescencia'' (English language:Adolescence) is a 1942 in film, 1942 Argentine film of the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, dicretet by Francisco Múgica and written by Carlos A. Olivari. The film starred Pola Alonso and Ana Arneodo Synopsis A ...

'' (Spanish: ''Adolescence'') * 1942: ''Claro de luna'' (Spanish: ''Moonlight'') *''1942: El viaje'' () *''1943: El espejo'' () * 1943: '' Safo, historia de una pasión'' (Spanish: ''Sappho, Story of a Passion'') * 1944: ''La casta Susana'' (Spanish: ''The Chaste Susanna'') * 1944: '' La pequeña señora de Pérez (Spanish: The Little Lady of Pérez)'' * 1944: '' Mi novia es un fantasma'' (Spanish: ''My Girlfriend is a Ghost'') * 1945: ''La señora de Pérez se divorcia'' (Spanish: ''The Lady of Pérez Gets Divorced'') * 1945: ''María Celeste'' (Spanish: ''Maria Celeste'') * ''1946: Un Beso en la Nuca'' ()https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0499464/ * ''1946: Cinco besos'' () * 1947: ''30 segundos de amor'' (Spanish: ''30 Seconds of Love'') * 1947: ''Como tú lo soñaste'' (Spanish: ''Like you dreamed it)'' * ''1948: El retrato'' () * 1948: '' Pasaporte a Rio'' (Spanish: ''Passport to Rio'') * 1949: ''La doctora quiere tangos'' (''The Doctor Wants Tangos'') * 1949: '' Vidalita'' (Spanish: ''Vidalita'') * 1950: '' Esposa último modelo'' (Spanish: ''Late Model Wife'') * ''1950: La vendedora de fantasías'' () * 1951: ''

El pendiente ''The Earring'' (Spanish: ''El Pendiente'') is a List of Argentine films of 1951, 1951 Argentine thriller film of the Argentine classical cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema, directed by León Klimovsky and starring Mirtha Legrand. It is a fi ...

'' (Spanish: ''The Earring'') * 1952: '' Doña Francisquita'' (Spanish: ''Doña Francisquita'') * 1952: '' La de los ojos color del tiempo'' (Spanish: ''The one with eyes the color of time'') * 1954: ''Tren internacional'' (Spanish: ''International Train'') * 1955: '' El amor nunca muere'' (Spanish: ''Love Never Dies'') * 1956: ''La pícara soñadora'' (Spanish: ''The Dreamy Rogue'') * 1959: '' En la ardiente oscuridad'' (Spanish: ''In the Burning Darkness'') * 1960: '' La patota (Ultraje)'' (Spanish: ''The Gang'') * 1960: ''Sábado a la noche'', cine (Spanish: ''Saturday Night, Cinema'') * 1962: '' Bajo un mismo rostro'' (Spanish: ''Under The Same Face'') * 1964: '' La cigarra no es un bicho'' (Spanish: ''The Cicada is Not a Bug'') * 1965: ''Con gusto a rabia'' (Spanish: ''With Taste of Rage'')

Awards

Nominations

* 2013

Martín Fierro Awards The Martín Fierro Awards () are awards for Argentine radio and television, granted by APTRA, the Association of Argentine Television and Radio Journalists. History The awards were first given in 1959, limited to television. The next year, the a ...

** Best female TV host

References

External links

*
Mirtha Legrand
at

cinenacional.com Cinenacional.com is a web portal and web-based database about Argentine cinema. It is the most comprehensive site for information about the Argentine film industry, with a vast array of information on films, television programs, directors, actor ...

Biography of Mirtha Legrand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legrand, Mirtha 1927 births Living people 20th-century Argentine actresses People from General López Department Argentine film actresses Argentine radio actresses Argentine stage actresses Argentine television actresses Illustrious Citizens of Buenos Aires Golden Martín Fierro Award winners Argentine twins Argentine people of Spanish descent People of Andalusian descent