Katy Jurado, a prominent performer of Mexican cinema, became famous in Hollywood in the 1950s, as a sensual supporting actress in films such as
High noon (1952) and
Broken lance (1954). However, instead of leaving his native country,
Jury She remained a star of Mexican filmmaking and a respected actress north and south of the border, until she retired from film in 1998.
Born into a wealthy family in Guadalajara, on January 16, 1924, Maria Cristina Jurado Garcia He spent his childhood in luxury until the family’s lands were confiscated during the revolution. However, her domineering grandmother continued to adhere to “aristocratic ideals,” including staunch disapproval of Jurado’s desire to become an actress after director Emilio Fernández discovered her at age 16.
She married actor / writer Víctor Velázquez to escape her family’s control. He made his film debut in No Maturas (1943).
The talented Mexican beauty quickly made her mark on the Mexican film industry, winning three Ariels (the Mexican equivalent of the Oscar), including one for The Brutus (1952) by Luis Buñuel.
Divorced mother with two children in her twenties, Jury She worked between her performances to support her family, as a radio reporter, film critic, and columnist. Discovered by Budd Boetticher and John Wayne in a bullfight, Jury Boetticher’s killer drama was cast in her first American film The Bullfighter and the Lady (1951). Although his English was still limited, and he was learning his scripts phonetically, he garnered great critical acclaim for his second film, High noon (1952). As the fiery ex-girlfriend of the quarterback played by Gary Cooper, Jury unforgettably crossed on screen with Grace Kelly, Cooper’s prim girlfriend, won a Golden Globe Award for her performance.
Refusing to be pigeonholed by signing a contract with a Hollywood studio, she returned home to Mexico, and continued starring in Mexican films such as the melodrama Nosotros The poor (1957), during the 1950s. However, he was still a frequent presence in Hollywood movies, particularly Westerns.
Jury earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as the Indian wife of cattle tycoon Spencer Tracy in Broken Spear (1954), and lived up to her sexy image when it was noticed on the Oscar red carpet that her underwear was the same crimson color as her dress.
Also appeared in A solitary revolver (1956), The impenetrable faceby Marlon Brando (1961), the judicial drama The fury of the righteous (1955), and Burt Lancaster’s circus show, Trapeze (1955).
The life of Jury fueled the Hollywood tabloids when his relationship with his co-star of Arizona, federal prison (1958), Ernest Borgnine, flourished in a brief and unstable marriage. Married in 1959, Jury he had separated and reconciled with Borgnine amid allegations of spousal abuse in 1961; After arguing over alimony, the divorce became final in 1964.
After moving to the US to be with Borgnine, Jury acted less frequently during the 1960s, including roles in the brilliant Barrabás (1961), the Spanish film A lonely man (1964), TV series Western death valley days (1964) and the Elvis Presley film, Stay away, joe (1968). After attempting suicide in 1968, Jury he moved to Mexico for good.
Although he did occasionally work on American films shot in Mexico, including a co-star with John Huston in The Bridge in the Jungle (1970) and in a supporting role, from Sam Peckinpah’s Western Elegy, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Jury focused on Mexican films, including The chosen one (1977) and The Seduction (1980), by Arturo Ripstein, aging gracefully into an actress of character.
After appearing alongside his former mentor Fernandez in the bleak drama Huston, Under the volcano (1984), Jury He began working behind the scenes in the Mexican industry, promoting his home state of Morelos to filmmakers. Although he began to obtain the laurels of his career at the Santa Fe West Festival in 1981 and the Mexican Film Promotion Trust in 1992, Jury it remained active, albeit infrequently, on the screen. After winning a special Ariel for lifetime achievement in 1997, Jurado made his last film, playing the leader of a religious cult in Ripstein’s Bunuelian satire, The Gospel of Wonders (1998).
Pride of the Mexican film industry, Katy Jurado passed away in 2002. His daughter survived him; her son died in a car accident in 1981.