Carmen Molina (actress)

Carmen Molina was born in Mexico City in 1920. She studied at the Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles school and made her film debut at the age of 16 with a small role in the movie ¿Qué hago con la criatura? (1936). Her subsequent projects would see her working with actors such as Cantinflas, Emilio Fernández, Sara García, Gloria Marin, Julián Soler, and Pedro Armendáriz in films such as No te engañes corazón (1937), Adiós Nicanor (1937), La gallina clueca (1941), and Simón Bolívar (1942). In 1944, she worked on Walt Disney's American production The Three Caballeros, a film that combined animation with live actors. The following year, she appeared in the film Song of Mexico, but despite these opportunities in Mexico, she was unable to land a leading role and had to settle for supporting roles in which she demonstrated her acting skills, as was the case with the film Las mañanitas (1948), starring the real-life couple Esther Fernández, one of the greatest divas of the previous decade, and Antonio Badú. For this performance, she received an Ariel Award nomination, losing to Columba Domínguez for her performance in Maclovia. Other important roles were in films such as Soy charro de levita (1949), starring Tin Tan and Rosita Quintana, Hipócrita (1949), alternating with Leticia Palma and Antonio Badú, Vino el remolino y nos alevantó (1950), No desearás a la mujer de tu hijo (1950), with Pedro Infante and Fernando Soler, and El hombre sin rostro (1950) with Arturo de Córdova.^{[citation needed]}

Disappointed at not receiving the starring roles she felt she deserved, she took refuge in the theater and bid farewell to cinema with the film El mártir del calvario (The Martyr of Calvary, 1952). She returned ten years later, persuaded by her friend Mario Moreno Cantinflas to appear in one of his films, El extra (The Extra), and went on to make minor appearances. She enjoyed her greatest success on television, appearing in soap operas and television theater. In 1961, she was voted most outstanding actress and later best actress.^{[citation needed]}