MarÃa à frica Gracia Vidal (6 June 1912 â€" 7 September 1951), known
as The Queen of Technicolor, was a Dominican motion picture actress
who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s as an exotic beauty
starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume adventure films.
Her screen image was that of a hot-blooded Latin seductress, dressed
in fanciful costumes and sparkling jewels. She became so identified
with these adventure epics that she became known as "The Queen of
Technicolor". Over her career, Montez appeared in 26 films, 21 of
which were made in North America and the last five were made in
Europe.Montez was born MarÃa Antonia GarcÃa Vidal de Santo Silas
(some sources cite MarÃa à frica Gracia Vidal or MarÃa à frica
Antonia GarcÃa Vidal de Santo Silas as her birth name) in Barahona,
Dominican Republic. She was one of ten children born to Isidoro
GarcÃa, a Spaniard, and Teresa Vidal, a Dominican of Criollo descent.
Montez was educated at the Sacred Heart Convent in Santa Cruz de
Tenerife, Spain. In the mid-1930s, her father was appointed to the
Spanish consulship in Belfast, Northern Ireland where the family
moved. It was there that Montez met her first husband, William G.
McFeeters, whom she married at age 17. In the book, Maria Montez, Su
Vida by Margarita Vicens de Morales, there is a copy of Montez's birth
certificate proving that her original name was MarÃa à frica Gracia
Vidal. Her father's name was Isidoro Gracia (not Garcia) and her
mother's name was Teresa Vidal. There is also a copy of a fake
biography made by Universal Pictures, where it says that Montez was
educated in Tenerife and that she lived in Ireland, which was never
true. Instead, it claims that Montez lived the first 27 years of her
life in the Dominican Republic.Montez was spotted by a talent scout
while visiting New York. Her first film was Boss of Bullion City, a
Johnny Mack Brown western produced by Universal Pictures. This was the
first movie where she played a leading role and the only role where
she speaks some Spanish.Her next film was The Invisible Woman (1940).
It was made for Universal Pictures, who signed her to a long-term
contract starting at $150 a week.
as The Queen of Technicolor, was a Dominican motion picture actress
who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s as an exotic beauty
starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume adventure films.
Her screen image was that of a hot-blooded Latin seductress, dressed
in fanciful costumes and sparkling jewels. She became so identified
with these adventure epics that she became known as "The Queen of
Technicolor". Over her career, Montez appeared in 26 films, 21 of
which were made in North America and the last five were made in
Europe.Montez was born MarÃa Antonia GarcÃa Vidal de Santo Silas
(some sources cite MarÃa à frica Gracia Vidal or MarÃa à frica
Antonia GarcÃa Vidal de Santo Silas as her birth name) in Barahona,
Dominican Republic. She was one of ten children born to Isidoro
GarcÃa, a Spaniard, and Teresa Vidal, a Dominican of Criollo descent.
Montez was educated at the Sacred Heart Convent in Santa Cruz de
Tenerife, Spain. In the mid-1930s, her father was appointed to the
Spanish consulship in Belfast, Northern Ireland where the family
moved. It was there that Montez met her first husband, William G.
McFeeters, whom she married at age 17. In the book, Maria Montez, Su
Vida by Margarita Vicens de Morales, there is a copy of Montez's birth
certificate proving that her original name was MarÃa à frica Gracia
Vidal. Her father's name was Isidoro Gracia (not Garcia) and her
mother's name was Teresa Vidal. There is also a copy of a fake
biography made by Universal Pictures, where it says that Montez was
educated in Tenerife and that she lived in Ireland, which was never
true. Instead, it claims that Montez lived the first 27 years of her
life in the Dominican Republic.Montez was spotted by a talent scout
while visiting New York. Her first film was Boss of Bullion City, a
Johnny Mack Brown western produced by Universal Pictures. This was the
first movie where she played a leading role and the only role where
she speaks some Spanish.Her next film was The Invisible Woman (1940).
It was made for Universal Pictures, who signed her to a long-term
contract starting at $150 a week.
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