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María África Gracia Vidal, widely recognized as Maria Montez, was a Dominican actress who rose to prominence in the 1940s. Known for her exotic and captivating beauty, she achieved stardom in Hollywood and appeared in over 26 films. As the second of ten children, Montez independently learned English at a young age through self-motivation, utilizing magazines, books, and songs to master the language without formal instruction.
In 1939, she ventured to New York to pursue an acting career. Universal Pictures recognized a gap in the portrayal of a "glamorous girl " and allowed her to establish herself in the industry, given the absence of such an actress within their current roster.
Her friends used to say:
"She was born with that vocation."
Her first significant role, which brought her fame, was in the film The Master of the West, to which she got great exposure. Montez quickly rose, and her career skyrocketed. Her star attitude was not limited to the stage or premieres; according to the Los Angeles Times, she borrowed the old technique of always looking like a famous actress.
Her beauty made her the centerpiece of the technicolor adventure films of Universal Pictures. Especially infamous shoots such as The Thousand and One Night, The Queen of Cobra, Wild White, Ali Baba, and the Forty Thieves, among others. And it is from there that the nickname "The Queen of Technicolor" emerges:
"When I look at myself I am so beautiful that I scream with joy."
She participated in some plays and wrote three books that are not part of her most famous and renowned stage, but it was at that time, she wrote a series of poems called Twilight, with which she won the award of the Association of The Manuscripters.
After her second marriage to French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont, with whom she had a daughter, they decided to move to a house in the suburbs of Paris. In 1951, at the age of 39, Maria died suddenly of a heart attack. Her sudden departure caused great shock among fans who hoped to continue seeing her triumph on the big screen. Montez left at an early age, leaving an impressive legacy in the mecca of cinema. Although many do not know her story, she is a successful Latina in the film industry.