Who is Silvia Pinal?
An actress with over 100 credits to her name, a singer, producer and politician Silvia Pinal, was born as Silvia Veronica Pasquel Hidalgo, under the zodiac sign of Virgo on 12 September 1931, in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, thus she holds Mexican nationality and her ethnicity is Hispanic. Silvia rose to prominence after her roles in the movies “Viridiana”, “El Angel Exterminador”, and “Simon del Desierto”, the 1960s trilogy directed by famous filmmaker and director Luis Bunuel Portoles.
Early life, family, and education
Silvia was raised by her single mother, Maria Luisa Hidalgo, who became pregnant at the age of fifteen with Moises Pasquel, Silvia’s biological father, who didn’t want to marry Maria.
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Silvia eventually met her father when she was 11-years-old, and then she found out that she has three siblings from her father’s side, namely Eugenio, Virginia and Moises.
When Silvia was five years old, her mother married Luis G. Pinal, known by his moniker ‘El Caballero Pinal’ (Knight Pinal), who was a military man and politician, 12 years older than Silvia’s mother. Luis adopted Silvia, and she was raised alongside his three daughters; the family moved a lot because of Luis’ work, eventually settling in Mexico City.
Silvia had an interest in show business from an early age, reciting and writing poems, and dreamed about becoming a famous actress and singer.
She attended Pestalozzi College but her father conditioned her to study typing at the Washington Institute, in Mexico City. After she earned her certification in typing, she started working as a secretary at Kodak, but still dreamed about a singing career, thus she took private classes to study opera with Professor Reyes Retana. Later, while still working as a secretary in pharmaceutical laboratories, she auditioned for a role in opera but she wasn’t cast, and her teacher encouraged her to take acting classes.
She enrolled at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, and soon made her acting debut on the stage as an extra in the theater play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare.
Roles in movies
Silvia was seen playing minor roles in some movies in 1949 – her first appearance was in the movie “El Pecado de Laura”, but her first notable role was in the 1950 movie “The King of the Neighborhood” portraying Carmelita, alongside Marcelo Chavez and German Valdes.
In the following years, she was seen in “El Portero”, “Mujer de Medianoche”, “Si, mi Vida”, and “The Loving Women”, among others, while her performance in “Un Rincon Cerca del Cielo” brought her the first Silver Ariel Award – Best Supporting Actress (Mejor Coactuación Femenina), in 1953.
In 1956, Silvia was nominated for Silver Ariel Award Best Actress (Mejor Actuación Femenina), for her performance in “Un Extrano en la Escalera”, while she won that award in 1957, for her portrayal of Mabel Mendoza in “Locura Pasional”, and again the following year, for her performance as Lucrecia in “La Dulce Enemiga”.
However, her most successful movies which brought her international recognition are those directed by Louis Bunuel; the first one, “Viridiana” in which Silvia portrayed Viridiana, starring alongside Fernando Rey and Francisco Rabal, won the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or Award, and Grand Prix Award presented by the Belgian Film Critics Association, in 1962.
The movie “El Angel Exterminador” starring Silvia, Enrique Rambal and Jacqueline Andere, received critical acclaim worldwide, and in 2004, the New York Times recognized it as one of the best films of all time.
The third movie with Luis Bunuel as director – “Simon del Desierto” – was nominated for the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Award in 1966.
The list of her roles is too long to enumerate, so we will mention some of her most notable roles, such as her portrayal of Cassandra in “Las Mariposas Disecadas” which brought her the Premios ACE Award Cinema – Best Actress in 1979.
In the early ‘90s, Silvia was seen in “Vintage Model”, and then in 2003, in “Ya No Los Hacen Como Antes”, and “El Agente 00-P2” in 2009, followed by the 2013 movie “The Last Call”, which was her last movie role.
Roles in series
Silvia made her first television appearance in 1968, in the series “Los Caudillos”, followed by her roles in “Quien?” and “Manana es Primavera” in the early ‘80s.
In the following years, she was seen starring in series such as “Eclipse” and “Carita de Angel”, before she hosted the show “Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real, from 1988 until 2006.
In 2008, Silvia was cast to play Santita in “Fuego en la Sangre”, followed by her role as Isabel Rangel de Dorantes in “Soy tu Duena”, then portrayed Imelda in “Ma Marido Tiene Familia” in 2017.
Her most recent television roles were in the series “The Heart Is Never Wrong” in 2019, and “+Noche”, in 2020.
Love life and relationships
There were various rumors concerning Silvia’s love life since she was a modern, urban girl, being romantically linked to various men from the movie, television and music industries.
It’s widely known that she has been married four times; her first husband was Rafael Banquells, a Cuban-born Mexican TV producer, director, and actor.
The two married in 1947, and Rafael helped Silvia with her acting career in the theatre. They divorced in 1952, rumors saying because Rafael was jealous of her work and all the attention that she received from her male fans; they have a daughter together, namely Sylvia Elizabeth Banquells, who was born in 1950, and who is an actress, known to the public under her stage name Sylvia Pasquel.
In 1961, Silvia married Gustavo Miquel Alatriste, a Mexican producer, actor and director, with whom she had a daughter named Virdiana Alatriste born in 1963, who sadly died in a car accident in 1982.
Silvia and Gustavo divorced in 1967, then in the same year, she married Enrique Guzman, a famous Mexican singer, with whom she has a daughter, Alejandra Guzman, one of the most popular Mexican singers, while their son, Luis Enrique Guzman, is an actor.
Enrique and Silvia divorced in 1976, and then in 1982, Silvia married Tulio Hernandez, who was governor of the State of Tlaxcala, so Silvia became First Lady, and soon she became a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, and in 1991 was elected a federal deputy.
The marriage between Silvia and Tulio lasted until 1995, but after her fourth divorce, she hasn’t remarried.
As of February 2022, Silvia is single, was married four times, and had four children.
Where is she now?
In December 2021, it was announced that Silvia was positive for the Covid-19 virus, and had been hospitalized after presenting complications in her health; rumors soon started about Silvia’s death.
However, after a few days, her daughter Sylvia Pasquel stated: ‘She is well and stable. Trusting that everything improves. Her heart rate is very good.’ Fans of this living legend were happy to hear that she was better, and soon Silvia was released from the hospital fully recovered. She’s living a peaceful and happy life with her family, enjoying her children and grandchildren, who all take care of her.
Age, height, and net worth
Silvia is 90 years old, with blonde hair and brown eyes; she weighs around 154lbs (70kgs) and is 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall – when younger, her vital statistics of 35-25-36 were almost perfect.
As of February 2022, her net worth has been estimated at over $10 million.
