Marta Padovan

Brunette Catalan leading lady, born Conxita Alà i Miquel in Barcelona, Spain. Marta initially studied piano at the Conservatori Municipal in Barcelona but then segued into acting. She made her screen debut in 1958 and headlined for the next few years in a series of lightweight romantic comedies. By 1963, she had managed to secure a niche for herself in unassuming crime thrillers (Senda torcida (1963), Trampa mortal (1963)) and spaghetti westerns (Ruthless Colt of the Gringo (1966), Secret of Captain O'Hara (1966)), occasionally billing herself as 'Martha Dovan' in the latter genre. On stage in Barcelona from 1963, she eventually fronted her own theatre company by the 70s, now dividing her time between TV, stage acting and voice-over work, latterly also as dubbing director. She achieved her greatest popularity as a character actress in soap operas during the 1980s and 90s. Marta retired from the screen in 2007 and died on September 29 2019 at the age of 81.