Guillermina Téllez Girón

Beautiful, sexy, and glamorous, Guillermina Téllez Girón became a star in the mid-1950s but was eventually relegated to supporting roles before retiring from the Mexican screen in the early 1960s. She was born in Mexico City. Her childhood ambition was to become a ballerina. She would always dance in school festivals and family reunions, usually performing a Carmen Miranda imitation. Téllez Girón's first big break came when she was crowned "Reina de los Deportistas" (Queen of the Sportsmen). This helped her find work as a model in television programs. In 1953, she made her film debut and played a small role in the Libertad Lamarque vehicle Si volvieras a mi (1954). She was elevated to star status when she played her first leading role in Los aventureros (1954), co-starring Dagoberto Rodríguez and Joaquín Cordero, and reprised that same role in the film's sequel, Tres bribones (1955). Another notable chance for Téllez Girón to shine was as the second leading lady in Rosita Alvirez Was My Betrothed (1955), where her character engaged in a brawl with Rosita Alvírez (played by Chula Prieto). Her next film roles, however, were secondary parts in which she had to support another star. She was the second actress in the cast of the routine Antonio Aguilar western La barranca de la muerte (1955). In La engañadora (1955), the main star was Cuban dancer María Antonieta Pons. Her career improved when she was hired to play the female protagonist in Ay, Chaparros... ¡Cómo abundan! (1956), a comedy that gave sidekick comedians Pompín Iglesias, Joaquín García Vargas, and Arturo Soto La Marina a rare opportunity to star in a film. She had another leading lady role in Pancho López (1957), which paired Luis Aguilar and Manuel Palacios as a comedy duo. In Bolero inmortal (1958), the film that made Elvira Quintana a star, she played the invalid wife of Quintana's lover. As the lovely barmaid María, Téllez Girón was the woman who captivated the hearts of Viruta and Capulina in A sablazo limpio (1958). She was the main leading lady in Viva la parranda (1960), where she and Carmela Rey take part in a singing showdown with the film's stars Miguel Aceves Mejía and Lucho Gatica. Despite her previous stellar triumphs, Téllez Girón returned to supporting roles in Dangers of Youth (1960). Her most famous appearance in her entire career is probably in the last scene of The Extra (1962), where Cantinflas finds her sitting on a bench outside a film studio; he sits on the bench and chats while she eats a sandwich. Her promising career ended with two film roles that were little more than bit parts. In 1966, her marriage to Mexican army major Carlos Díaz de León was announced.