Lupe Vélez Biography

Fast Facts

• In 1928, she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars
• In 1933, she got married to fellow actor Johnny Weissmuller
• After her suicide, more than 4,000 people filed past her casket at her funeral
• Briefly worked as a warehouse clerk for four dollars a week to help support her family
• Got her start as an entertainer by performing in various vaudeville acts
• Starred in the films in the "Mexican Spitfire" series, in which she played the comic Carmelita Lindsey, a temperamental but friendly Mexican singer
• Was cast in exotic or ethnic roles in many of her early Hollywood films, playing not only Latina characters, but also Native Americans, French women, Russians and Asians
• Appeared on the cover of the very first issue of the Italian crossword weekly magazine 'La Settimana Enigmistica․"
• Learned to speak English after her parents sent her to study at Our Lady of the Lake convent when she was 13 years old
• Was known for performing vicious parodies of other actresses at Hollywood parties