- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMaría Esther Fernández González
- Nickname
- The Hedy Lamarr of Mexico
- Height5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
- Esther Fernández was born on August 22, 1918 in Mascota, Jalisco, Mexico. She was an actress and writer, known for Flor de durazno (1945), Santa (1943) and The Macabre Trunk (1936). She was married to Antonio Badú. She died on October 21, 1999 in Mexico D.F., Mexico.
- SpouseAntonio Badú(August 12, 1949 - ?) (divorced)
- ParentsDomingo A. Fernández QuinteroMaría del Refugio González Bermúdez
- RelativesAurora Bermúdez(Aunt or Uncle)
- Niece of actress Aurora Bermúdez.
- Winner of Mexico's National Best Actress Trophy for her performance in Santa (1943).
- In September 1940, she signed a long-term contract with Paramount Pictures and was going to play the second female role in the Dorothy Lamour picture Aloma of the South Seas (1941), but she turned it down and the part went to Katherine DeMille.
- Was cast as John Garfield's leading lady in Fiesta in Manhattan, a Warner Bros. picture about Mexicans in New York City, but the movie was never made. Ida Lupino was first announced for the role.
- Paramount originally cast her in Las Vegas Nights (1941) but later deemed the role too small for her to make a good first impression on the American public.
- [on how she was cast in Two Years Before the Mast (1946)] He telephoned me, and we made a date and he told me all about the story. I said, please, I wanted to see the script. I said I had worked at Paramount before. He sent for the script and I read it and there was a part for me, all right.
- [on her arrival in Hollywood] I came here by plane, Paramount paying the fare, and the day before the picture started, I signed.
- [in 1944] And I must say, that it was very nice of Paramount to do all this for me. At the end of the year I could talk English as well as I do now.
- [on Buddy G. DeSylva, executive producer of Two Years Before the Mast (1946)] He wanted to sign me to a term contract, but I already had been under a term contract and that was a horrible feeling. I did not like it. He said then would I sign for one picture this year and another next? I said I would if the terms were right. I think he is paying me more than he thought he would have to. Of course, that was not all. There was the matter of the billing. I did not much care what the billing was in the United States, but I specified that wherever the picture was shown south of the border, Esther Fernández would be billed as the star. That is in the contract.
- Only once did I play a villain, in Flor de sangre (1951), in which, by the way, I supposedly did a nude scene with my back, running to the sea. But a double did it because I would never have dared to undress in front of everyone, since I had a very strict education.
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