Biography for
Raquel Meller More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

10 March 1888, Tarazona, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain

Date of Death

26 July 1962, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Birth Name

Francisca Marqués López

Mini Biography

Spanish actress and singer. She began in theater using her artistic name for the first time in 1907. She moved to Madrid and became famous as "cuple" singer. Her debut in cinema was in 1919. She performed not only in Spain but also in France and the US.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Mini Biography

Born on March 9, 1888, in Tarazona, Zaragoza, Aragón (Spain), Raquel Meller sprung from humble origins and very early in her life started singing "cuplés" ("couplets") as a way out of poverty. Although these songs were considered "naughty" and beneath the dignity (and morals) of a decent, serious singer, Raquel with her beauty and charismatic presence raised the "cuplé" genre to high art and made it acceptable for the entire family (before that it had played in men-only bistros). The quality of her voice was a source of great debate, but for her fans and theater-goers Meller could do no wrong. "Raquel Meller is a genius." exclaimed Sarah Bernhardt. Songs such as "La Violetera", "El Relicario", "Nena", "Flor de Te", "Mimosa", "Flor del Mal", etc., became standards - thanks to her interpretation. She was the first Spanish popular singer to succeed in Europe and the Americas, specially in the United States where her recordings enjoyed great popularity and her live concerts broke box-office records in the most important American cities. At one point she was under exclusive contract with the famed Broadway impresarios the Shubert brothers.

She was also a hit on the big screen, starring in important films such as Violettes impériales (1924) and Carmen (1926). Hollywood imported her for "The Oppressed" (1929) (it is not confirmed if this title was made in Hollywood or is simply Raquel's 1923 French film Flanders under Philip II (1923) released for the first time in the U.S. in 1929) and Charles Chaplin, a big Meller fan, used "La Violetera" for the score of his classic City Lights (1931). She appeared in several musical shorts shot in Hollywood at the advent of "talkies" and was a big draw in the vaudeville circuits for many years.

Her private life was followed with great interest by the media and the public. She was imperious, ruthless (especially with the competition), lovable, funny, temperamental, witty and totally egomaniacal. Her love life was described as "healthy-plus" and among her many lovers were royalty, heads of state and assorted VIPs. She could never bear children so she adopted a boy and a girl.

By the late 1930s Raquel Meller's career was over, only to surface again in 1957 in the wake of Sara Montiel's enormous success in the films The Last Torch Song (1957) and La violetera (1958), in which Montiel revived Raquel's greatest hits. As with other rivals in the past, Meller became Montiel's nemesis, but by then a new generation that simply did not know her just plain ignored her. She attempted several big comebacks but all were critical and commercial failures. Bitterly, she retired and stayed out of the public eye until her death in Barcelona on July 26, 1962. A plan to film her story starring Sara Montiel (of course) was foiled by Meller's relatives, but some of her story made it to the screen anyway in Montiel's vehicle La reina del Chantecler (1962).

Most of Raquel's recordings, considered lost for years, never made it in vinyl LPs but have been showing up lately on CDs. Her films were also considered lost for a long time, but in June 2000 the British Film Institute had a "world premiere" of a newly restored copy of Violettes impériales (1932), which they are planning to release on video. They also have in their archives the highly acclaimed "Carmen".

Raquel Meller has been the subject of many books and articles in Europe. A street is named after her in Paris and her statue commands a beautiful plaza with her name in Barcelona. It is inexcusable that film preservationists and the cinemateques of France, Spain and the United States have shown little or no interest in Meller's filmography. Without these films it is impossible to assess Raquel's personal charisma which was the source of her success and fame.

IMDb Mini Biography By: M.O. Martinez <whatsupomar@cs.com> (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)

Mini Biography

Raquel Meller studied in Tudela (Spain), and Montpellier (France). She started working as a dressmaker, and it was a customer, Marta Oliver, aka 'Mrs. Oliver', then a vaudeville star, who brought her to the comedy theatre. She adopted her stage name in 1907, in Madrid, and has been accepted as an international singer since then. She became famous for her performances as a gypsy woman. After some time in France and the USA making films, she returned to Madrid where she starred in the vaudeville show "Ha Salido Blanco y Negro!" (1958).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Artemis-9

Spouse

Gomez Carillo	(? - ?)
Edmond Salac	(? - ?)

Trivia

From the memoirs of Jacques Feyder who directed her in "Carmen": "This talented spanish artist was perfect as Carmen but.......because of her moral principles she wanted to play only parts of pure and kind-hearted women. I was worried because I saw the passionate and capricious gypsy becoming more and more like a dull and virtuous young girl whose love for don José was strictly platonic. One morning, while turning in the Plaza de Toros of Ronda, miss Meller and I began an argument about a scene where she did not want to be kissed. It was a very hot day, six hundred extras were waiting and sweating under the burning sun, so I lost my patience and cried her that it was impossible to change the story written by Mérimée. She raised her arms in a tinkling of all her bracelets and screamed: I don't care of this mr. Mérimée! Wher does this Mérimée live? I'll call him by phone!"

Raquel Meller was mainly a "cuple singer" and music hall entertainer. Her songs became famous the world over and she made countless recordings. One of her greatest hits, "La Violetera" was used by Charles Chaplin in his "City Lights". By all accounts he was a big Meller fan. So was Sarah Bernhardt, who was quoted as saying: "Raquel Meller is a genius." In the late 1950's, Spanish singer-actress Sara Montiel became a sensation singing Raquel's songs in two films: The Last Torch Song (1957) and La violetera (1958). Meller hated it and threatened legal action but she really couldn't do anything. When she died in 1962 a book was published in France in which the author claimed that Raquel was instrumental in turning over Mata Hari to the French authorities since the famous spy-dancer was fooling around with one of her lovers. The whole Meller-Mata Hari publicity was exploited in the film _Reina del chantecler, La (1962)_ starring, yes, Sara Montiel.