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'' (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, '' Flying Down to Rio'' (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. She starred in the British thriller '' Tower of Terror'' (1941) alongside Wilfrid Lawson and Michael Rennie. 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 in two further westerns: '' The Mysterious Desperado'' (1949) and '' Saddle Legion'' (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. They married in 1960, and they had two children. Brando played the role of Fletcher Christian 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 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