Actress Marisa Paredes, muse of Almodóvar and president of the Film Academy, dies at 78

The actress Marisa Paredes has died at the age of 78 as reported by the Film Academy, of which she was president. Paredes won the Goya of Honor in 2018, the only one he has despite having opted for the award on two other occasions, for The flower of my secret in 1996 and chard face in 1988.

Marisa Paredes: A life between applause and eternity

María Luisa Paredes Bartolomé, known to everyone as Marisa Paredes, was one of those figures who illuminated the scene for decades and ended up becoming part of the history of cinema and theater itself. Born in Madrid on April 3, 1946, the girl who dreamed of stepping on the big stages ended up conquering the most prestigious stages and screens in Europe and the world. His farewell on December 17, 2024 leaves a void that is difficult to fill, but also an unmatched artistic legacy that will survive the passage of time.

Marisa Paredes was, above all, an all-round actress. Throughout more than six decades of his career, he moved with the same naturalness through the tragedies of Shakespeare, the comic entanglements of Spanish cinema of the 60s and the transgressive stories of Pedro Almodóvar. Her face and her voice were able to adapt to each era, each character, each director, but always with that magnetic intensity that characterized her. Not in vain, in the Olympus of European cinema, his name is written in capital letters, next to the greatest.

From a very young age, Marisa knew that art was her thing. He began his training at the Conservatory and the School of Dramatic Arts in Madrid, where he began to shape his talent under the rigorous gaze of teachers. At just 14 years old, he made his film debut with “Esta noche also” (1960) by José Osuna and “091 Police on the Talk” (1960) by José María Forqué, films that today form part of the first pages of his professional history. . The following year, he stepped on stage for the first time with Conchita Montes’ company, beginning a relationship with the theater that he would maintain until the end of his days. At the same time, he began to make a name for himself on television, participating in the famous Studio 1 program, where he performed texts by Ibsen, Chekhov, Shakespeare and other classics that cemented his prestige.

During the 60s and 70s, Marisa Paredes worked with discretion and skill in films of various genres, playing supporting roles in a cinema that was beginning to search for its own voice after years of stagnation. He acted in works by Fernando Fernán Gómez, in some spaghetti westerns and in light comedies alongside icons of the moment, such as Marisol. However, it was not until 1980 when her career took a definitive turn with Ópera prima, the film by Fernando Trueba that marked the beginning of a new stage for her and for Spanish cinema. Marisa Paredes, with her penetrating gaze and firm voice, had finally found her place.

Pedro Almodóvar made her one of his “Almodóvar girls”

But true international recognition came when Pedro Almodóvar made her one of his “Almodóvar girls”. Paredes was much more than a fetish actress for the director from La Mancha: she was his muse, his artistic accomplice and the perfect interpreter of complex, strong and vulnerable women at the same time. between darkness (1983) was the first collaboration between the two, but it would be Far Heels (1991) and La flor de mi secreto (1995) where Paredes would display all his talent in characters full of nuances. That broken voice of a tormented mother and a woman without duplicity was recorded in the memory of the public and critics, who nominated her for the Goya Award for her performance in The flower of my secret.

His relationship with Almodóvar opened the doors of international cinema for him and allowed him to work with some of the most important directors in the world. participated in life is beautiful (1997), the unforgettable film by Roberto Benigni that conquered Hollywood, and in Deep Crimson (1996) by Arturo Ripstein, where he gave life to characters of astonishing complexity. He also collaborated with figures such as Raoul Ruiz, Guillermo del Toro, Amos Gitai, Daniel Schmid and Manoel de Oliveira, leaving his mark on a varied and cosmopolitan filmography.

In addition to her talent on screen, Marisa Paredes also shone in her institutional role. Between 2000 and 2003, he assumed the presidency of the Spanish Film Academy, in one of the most turbulent times in the sector. The 2003 Goya Awards gala, marked by the filmmakers’ protests against the Iraq Warwas a symbol of the courage and commitment of a profession that Marisa represented with pride. With serenity and determination, she defended freedom of expression and the dignity of Spanish cinema, consolidating her figure not only as an actress, but also as a moral and cultural reference.

Personally, Marisa Paredes was the mother of a daughter, the actress María Isasi, the result of her relationship with the director Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi. Her daughter, who followed in her footsteps in the world of acting, was always a source of pride for the actress, who spoke of her with a mixture of admiration and tenderness.

Marisa Paredes’ career was marked by recognition. From the National Cinematography Award to the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, including the Great Vermeil Medal of the City of Paris and the Goya of Honor, all the awards he received throughout his career are proof of the respect and affection he was able to earn inside and outside his country.

Now that Marisa Paredes has left us, her legacy lives on in every film, in every theatrical performance and in every character she played.. She was an actress of race, a woman of principles and a symbol of Spanish art. Like the great ladies of theater and cinema, Marisa Paredes is not completely gone: her voice, her gaze and her presence will remain with us, reminding us that acting is, deep down, an act of eternity.