Lupe Velez

Paternal granddaughter of Jacobo Villalobos Cuadriello, a lawyer, and Luisa Reyes Manrique. They married in 1875 in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

Maternal granddaughter of Silverio María Vélez Suárez, a printer, and his wife Carmen Gómez Galaviz. They married in 1881 in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

Daughter of Col. Jacobo Villalobos Reyes and Josefina Vélez Gómez, an opera singer. They married in 1901 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Lupe Velez was born on July 18, 1908, in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, as Maria Guadalupe Villalobos Velez. She was sent to Texas at the age of 13 to live in a convent. She later admitted that she wasn't much of a student because she was so rambunctious. She had planned to become a champion roller skater, but that would change. Life was hard for her family, and Lupe returned to Mexico to help them out financially. She worked as a salesgirl for a department store for the princely sum of $4 a week. Every week she would turn most of her salary over to her mother, but she kept a little for herself so she could take dancing lessons. With her mature shape and grand personality, she thought she could make a try at show business, which she figured was a lot more glamorous than dancing or working as a salesclerk.

According to her Mexican birth certificate, she was born "Guadalupe Villalobos y Vélez" in the city of San Luis Potosí on 18 July 1909 at 2:30 a.m.

In 1924 Lupe started her show business career on the Mexican stage and wowed audiences with her natural beauty and talent.

By 1927 she had emigrated to Hollywood, where she was discovered by Hal Roach, who cast her in a comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

Douglas Fairbanks then cast her in his feature film The Gaucho (1927) with himself and wife Mary Pickford. Lupe played dramatic roles for five years before she switched to comedy.

Was best friends with Mrs. Jack Oakie and former silent movie star and Estelle Taylor, who was the last person to see her alive. Taylor co-starred with Velez in Where East Is East (1929); she played the mother of Velez's character.

Was chosen by Edwin Carewe to portray Katyusha Maslova in his sound remake of Lev Tolstoy's last novel: Resurrection (1931). She also starred in the Spanish-language version: Resurrección (1931). The part had previously been played by fellow Mexican actress Dolores del Rio in Resurrection (1927), a silent film directed by Carewe.

In 1933 she played the lead role of Pepper in Hot Pepper (1933). This film showcased her comedic talents and helped her to show the world her vital personality. She was delightful.

In 1934 Lupe appeared in three fine comedies: Strictly Dynamite (1934), Palooka (1934) and Laughing Boy (1934). By now her popularity was such that a series of "Mexican Spitfire" films were written around her.

She portrayed Carmelita Lindsay in Mexican Spitfire (1940), Mexican Spitfire Out West (1940), The Mexican Spitfire's Baby (1941) and Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943), among others. Audiences loved her in these madcap adventures, but it seemed at times that she was better known for her stormy love affairs. She married one of her lovers, Johnny Weissmuller, but the marriage only lasted five years and was filled with battles. Lupe certainly did live up to her nickname. She had a failed romance with Gary Cooper, who never wanted to wed her.

By 1943 her career was waning. She went to Mexico in the hopes of jump-starting her career.

Bolstered by the success of that movie, Lupe returned to the US, where she starred in her final film as Pepita Zorita, Ladies' Day (1943). There were to be no others.

She gained her best reviews yet in the Mexican version of Naná (1944).

Has a star (honoring her work in motion pictures) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 1960.

On August 14, 2018, she was honored with a day of her film work during the TCM Summer Under The Stars.