Maria Luisa Castaneda (April 12, 1916 – February 12, 2015) was an American actress and the second wife of actor

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

. In films, she played exotic women and singers, such as in ''

Flying Down to Rio ''Flying Down to Rio'' is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film famous for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, although lead actors Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond received top billing. Among the featured pla ...

'' (1933) and ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935). She was the mother of Miko Castaneda Brando and Rebecca Brando Kotlizky.

Life and work

Movita, an American of Mexican descent, was born in

Nogales, Arizona Nogales (; English: or ) is a city in and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The population was 20,837 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and estimated 20,103 in 2019. Nogales forms part of the larger Tucson–Nogales L ...

, on a train traveling between

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 ...

and Arizona. Movita began her acting career singing the Carioca to

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

and

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

's first dance number in the first film in which the famous duo appeared together, ''

'' (1933). She continued playing exotic women in American and Spanish language films in the 1930s, most notably as a Tahitian girl, Tehanni in ''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship, , from their captain, Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...

'' (1935) alongside

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

and

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

. She played an island girl in '' Paradise Isle'' (1937) and again in ''Girl from Rio'' (1939) with

Warren Hull John Warren Hull (January 17, 1903 – September 14, 1974), known professionally as Warren Hull, was an American actor, singer and television personality active from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was one of the most popular serial actors in t ...

. She starred in the British thriller '' Tower of Terror'' (1941) alongside Wilfrid Lawson and

Michael Rennie Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the ...

. After a break, she appeared as

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image. Bo ...

's cook in '' Fort Apache'' (1948), then starred with

Tim Holt Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures. In a career spanning more ...

in two further westerns: ''

The Mysterious Desperado ''The Mysterious Desperado'' is a 1949 American Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmani ...

'' (1949) and ''

Saddle Legion ''Saddle Legion'' is a 1951 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Tim Holt. It co-stars Dorothy Malone, who was one of Holt's most prestigious co-stars. She was borrowed from Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertain ...

'' (1951). In 1939, Movita married the Irish boxer, singer and actor Jack Doyle in

. The marriage did not endure. After appearing in a few more minor westerns and a few television parts, she met the actor

in the late 1950s, after his breakup with

Anna Kashfi Anna Kashfi (born Joan O'Callaghan; 30 September 1934 – 16 August 2015) was a British actress who had a brief Hollywood career in the 1950s but was better known for her tumultuous marriage to film star Marlon Brando and the controversies surr ...

. They married in 1960, and they had two children. Brando played the role of

Fletcher Christian Fletcher Christian (25 September 1764 – 20 September 1793) was an English sailor who led the mutiny on the ''Bounty'' in 1789, during which he seized command of the Royal Navy vessel from Lieutenant William Bligh. In 1787, Christian was ap ...

in the 1962 remake of the 1935 film in which Movita had played a Tahitian girl, Tehanni. Brando then married his co-star

Tarita Teriipaia Tarita Teriipaia (born 30 December 1941) is a retired actress of French Polynesian and Chinese descent who was the third wife of actor Marlon Brando; the couple divorced in 1972. Biography Born in Bora Bora, French Polynesia, she played Maimit ...

in 1962. Castaneda's marriage to Brando was annulled in 1968 after it was discovered she was still legally married to Doyle. After a small role on television in 1977, Movita appeared as Ana in 17 episodes of ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...

'' from October 1987 to May 1989.

Death

Castaneda died at age 98 on February 12, 2015, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, after being hospitalized for a neck injury.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castaneda, Movita 1916 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Arizona American film actresses American television actresses American actresses of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American actresses Brando family People from Nogales, Arizona Actors from Santa Cruz County, Arizona