Sara Montiel was born in the village of Campo de Criptana, province of Ciudad Real, in the region of La Mancha, Spain, on March 10th, 1928. Her parents were Isidoro Abad, a peasant, and Maria Vicenta Fernández, a door to door beautician. The future star was christened Maria Antonia Alejandra Abad y Fernández
Barely in her teens she won a beauty and talent contest held by Cifesa, the most influential film studio of that era in Spain. As a reward she was signed to a long term movie contract and in 1944 made her debut in the film "Te Quiero Para Mí" credited in the cast as "Maria Alejandra". In spite of the small part, the young actress caught the attention of producers and directors who realized her enormous potential and by the end of 1944 she was given the starring role in the film "Empezó En Boda", which introduced her with a new image and a new name: she was now a sophisticated blonde named Sara MONTIEL.
(Sara was her grandmother's first name; Montiel was chosen as a tribute to her hometown located in "Campos de Montiel" (Fields of Montiel). Soon her colleagues started calling her "Sarita" ("Little Sara") due to her extreme youth. The nickname caught on with the press and the public consequently both Sara and "Sarita" have been used in credits and publicity.)
In the next four years Sarita Montiel appeared in 14 films including her first international success "Locura de Amor" (1948) which led to a long term contract in Mexico where she established herself as one of the most popular film actors of the decade making a total of 13 films between 1950 and 1954. Hollywood producers won her over for their films and she was formally introduced to American moviegoers in "Vera Cruz" (1954) starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster. Later she filmed for Warner Bros. "Serenade" (1955) with Mario Lanza, Joan Fontaine and Vincent Price directed by Anthony Mann who became her first husband.
After starring in "The Run Of The Arrow" (1957) with Rod Steiger, Brian Keith and Charles Bronson, Sarita went to Spain to film "El Último Cuplé" (The Last Song), a musical production which became the biggest box-office success in Spain's film history. It played for over one year in the same theaters in which it opened. A similar reaction followed in Western Europe and Latin America. Sarita Montiel had become the most popular actress-singer of 1957 and a national treasure for Spain.
The unprecedented success of "El Último Cuplé" threw a wrench into her Hollywood career as she was offered a multimillion dollar contract to star in four films in Europe. Her next vehicle "La Violetera" (The Violet Peddler) confirmed Sara's popularity and broke the box-office records set by the previous movie. The theme song from "La Violetera" became Montiel's signature song. The soundtrack albums from both films reportedly outsold Presley and Sinatra in the world market. From then on, Sarita would combine the making of films with the recording of highly successful albums and live concerts. The next films ratified her screen image and mass appeal. "Carmen, la de Ronda" (1959), "Mi Último Tango" (1960), "Pecado de Amor" (1961) were all outstanding commercial successes and proved that the Montiel phenomenon had arrived to stay.
By 1962 she had become a legend to millions of fans worldwide reaching markets that had previously been "uncharted territory" for Spanish cinematography. "La Bella Lola" (1962), "La Reina del Chantecler" (1963), "Noches de Casablanca" (1963) spread Sarita's popularity to Eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey, Israel and Japan More records and more films: "Samba" (1964), "La Dama de Beirut" (1965), "La Mujer Perdida" (1966), "Tuset Street" (1967), "Esa Mujer" (1968), "Varietés" (1971) and more record-breaking concert tours around the world.
As her interest in films diminished (due largely to the almost pornographic turn of Spanish films in the post-Franco era), her live performances seemed to occupy most of her career. She had an uncontested success with her stage shows "Sara en Persona" (1970-73), "Saritísima" (1974-75), "Increible Sara" (1977-78), "Super Sara Show" (1979-80), "Doña Sara de La Mancha" (1981-82), "Taxi Vamos Al Victoria" (1983-84), "Nostalgia" (1985-86), "Sara, Siempre Sara" (1987-88). However she did make another film in 1974 titled "Cinco Almohadas Para Una Noche" which, so far. is her latest, in spite of efforts by cinematographers including Pedro Almodovar to woe her back to the medium that made her a legend.
In the 1990's Sara surprised everyone by starring in her own television series: "Sara Y Punto", a mini-series of seven one-hour episodes which included a serialized biography of the star, many internationally popular guests (including Luciano Pavarotti, Charles Aznavour, et al) and Miss Montiel singing her greatest hits in addition to new songs written specially for her. Next came "Ven Al Paralelo", taped in a Barcelona theater where Montiel hosted, sang and acted in comedy sketches in front of a live audience. The weekly series kept her busy from 1991 through 1993.
We can not cover here all the awards Sara Montiel has won in her long successful career but we must mention the "Premio del Sindicato" (Spain's equivalent to the Hollywood Oscar) for best actress, won two years in a row for her performances in "El Último Cuplé" and "La Violetera".In 1972 she was proclaimed honorary citizen of Los Angeles by Mayor Sam Yorty and was given the gold keys to the city. Similarly she has the gold keys of New York, Miami and Chicago. In 1974 the Spanish government placed a commemorative plaque on the house where she was born and has, since then, turned one of the historical La Mancha windmills into a museum of the star. The street where it is located has also been named after her. In 1981 she received Israel's most prestigious honor, the Ben Guiron Award and in 1983 she was awarded France's Legion of Honor medal, after a retrospective of her career ran at the Autumn Film Festival in Paris.
In 1986 "Nosotros", a Hollywood-based organization founded by actor Ricardo Montalban gave her the Golden Eagle Award for life achievement. The trophy was presented to Sarita by "Vera Cruz" costar - producer Burt Lancaster in an emotional reunion that triggered a standing ovation from all their Hollywood peers witnessing the event. In 1997 she was awarded the "Gold Medal" , also a life achievement recognition, given rarely by Spain's Academy of Arts and Sciences . The two-hour ceremony was beamed live by national television.
In spite of all the glory that Miss Montiel has achieved throughout the years, she considers motherhood as the crowning achievement of her life. For years she had tried to conceive children of her own but due to a recurring physical disability she suffered several painful miscarriages. Finally she opted for adoption and in 1979 became the mother of a newly born Brazilian baby girl whom she named Thais. That same year she married her longtime companion and manager Jose "Pepe" Tous after her previous marriage to Vicente Ramirez Olalla was annulled by the Catholic Church. (Her civil marriage to Anthony Mann had been dissolved sometime in 1963.Mann died in 1967) See more details about the men in her life in Profile.
Later in 1983 the Montiel-Tous couple adopted in Spain a baby boy whom they named Zeus. Thais and Zeus have brought joy and purpose to the private life of Sara Montiel, the woman. Raising her children became the main priority to the point of taking them along in some international concert dates, whenever school duties permitted it. She is now more united to them than ever since "Pepe" Tous passed away in 1992, a painful loss for the star and for the children
In December 2000, Sara Montiel published her long awaited "memoirs" titled "Vivir es un placer" (To live is a pleasure) in which she candidly tells her remarkable story. Four weeks after its release the book had reached its fifth printing.! And Montiel keeps on living fast and adding experiences that would fill many more volumes. After breaking up a short romance with Italian actor Giancarlo Viola, the star began a controversial relationship with 38-year-old Tony Hernandez, a Cuban video tape operator residing in Havana, marrying him in Madrid on October 17th 2002 and filing for divorce on July 10th, 2003.
What does the future hold for Sarita Montiel? As with everyone else it is hard to predict tomorrow. Another wedding? Maybe. A return to films? Unlikely. The only thing certain is that Montiel, the beloved star, will go on. She has established an unbreakable bond with the public that loves her and this public is always waiting for her next move. She won't disappoint. She has also stated that she will "die with her boots on. on the stage" and there's no reason to doubt her, especially when she lights one of her famous cigars and stares calmly towards eternity.
