Miroslava (actress)


Miroslava Šternová, better known as Miroslava, was a Czechoslovak-born Mexican film actress who appeared in thirty two films.

Biography

Born Miroslava Šternová in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Miroslava moved to Mexico as a child with her mother and adoptive Jewish father in 1941, seeking to escape war in their native country. After winning a national beauty contest, Miroslava began to study acting. She worked steadily in films produced in Mexico, from 1946 to 1955, as well as three Hollywood films during that period.
Miroslava filmed Ensayo de un crimen in 1955, directed by Luis Buñuel. On March 9 of that year, soon after filming ended, Miroslava committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. Her body was found lying outstretched over her bed, she had a portrait of bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín in one hand. The Mexican and Hollywood star Katy Jurado claimed to be one of the first people to find the body. According to Jurado, the picture that Miroslava had between her hands was of Mexican comedian Cantinflas, but the artistic manager Fanny Schatz exchanged the photo to that of the Spanish bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín. Another source states that her body was found by actress Ninón Sevilla. Miroslava's friends stated her suicide was due to unrequited love for Dominguín, who had recently married Italian actress Lucia Bosè. Others claimed that her unrequited lover was Mario Moreno "Cantinflas."
In his 1983 autobiography, Mon dernier soupir, Buñuel recalls the irony of Miroslava's cremation following her suicide, when compared to a scene in Ensayo de un crimen, her last film, in which the protagonist cremates a wax reproduction of Stern's character. Her life is the subject of a short story by Guadalupe Loaeza, which was adapted by Alejandro Pelayo for his 1992 Mexican film called Miroslava, starring Arielle Dombasle.

Filmography

Mexico

Documentaries