Born 1904 as María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete in Victoria de Durango, Mexican actress Dolores del Río began her film career in Hollywood in 1925. She had roles in a string of successful films, including Resurrection (1927), Ramona (1928) and Evangeline (1929). Del Río came to be considered a sort of feminine version of Rudolph Valentino, a ‘female Latin Lover’, in her years during the American silent era.
In the early 1940s, when her Hollywood career began to decline, Del Río returned to Mexico and joined the Mexican film industry, which at that time was at its peak. She became one of the more important stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. A series of Mexican films starring Del Rio are considered classic masterpieces and helped boost Mexican cinema worldwide.
From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, Del Río also successfully ventured into theater in Mexico and appeared in some American TV series. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin American crossover star in Hollywood, and one of the most beautiful actresses of her era.
Del Río is also considered a quintessential representation of the female face of Mexico in the world. Take a look at these stunning photos to see the beauty of a young Dolores del Río in the 1920s and 1930s.
