Miroslava Profile

Miroslava

	(Miroslava Sternova)
26 February 26	is born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents are Oscar Becka, a physician, and Miroslava Sternova.
39	under German occupation, she, her parents, and her younger brother Ivo flee Czechoslovakia
?	she and her family are interned in a concentration camp due to their being Jewish
41	via Belgium, Finland, and Sweden, they finally make it to Mexico
c. 41-42	after her parents settle in Mexico City, her father sends her to New York City to finish high school
	in New York City she falls in love with a U.S. soldier, and they make plans to marry, but he is killed in WWII. Deeply depressed, she tries to take her life.
	due to her suicide attempt, she returns to Mexico City, and her parents enroll her at the American School for completion of her studies. Later she starts taking painting classes, too.
45	as her father is a member of "Club Campestre Churubusco," one of the most exclusive country clubs in the city, she is elected queen of the "Blanco y negro" ball.
	attracts the attention of Salvador Elizondo Pani, president of Clasa Films, and other filmmakers, who try to talk her into entering the movie business. She declines.
	meets Jesus Jaime Obregon, a young man from a good family, who is struggling for an acting career
c. 45	marries Obregon against the will of her parents, but divorces him quickly when she discovers that Jesus Jaime just married her to hide his homosexuality. Posthumously, her friends will claim the marriage was a social arrangement only.
26 February 46	against her father's will and after some acting lessons in Los Angeles, California, she accepts Elizondo's offer of a part in his upcoming Bodas tragicas, a version of Shakespeare's Othello
46	has an affair with her co-star in Cinco rostros de mujer, Arturo de Cordova. The act of falling for her male co-star will become a constant in her career.
c. 46	her mother dies from grief over her daughter
	continues her painting studies because she wants to become a fashion illustrator
c. 47	her father marries again - his secretary
	rents a house at the Calle de Sevilla in Mexico City
10 July 50	is on the cover of Life
51	moves into a two-story house at Kepler 83, Colonia Anzures, Mexico City
	suffers from being recognized not for her acting ability, but for her beauty
December 51	dates actor Steve Cochran
	privately she leads a lonely life, complaining about the constant hesitation of males to approach her
53	considered one of the best actresses in Mexico, she is nominated for the Arial Award for her supporting part in Las tres perfectas casadas
53	meets famous Spanish bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin in Cuba. Dominguin is half a year her junior and renown for trysts with the likes of Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner. So far they part as friends only.
54	meets Dominguin again, this time in the States
20 July 54	starts filming Ensayo de un crimen, her last movie
28 October 54	is off to Spain. She visits a girlfriend, meets fellow Mexican actors working abroad, and spends a few days with Dominguin
	introduced by Dominguin, she meets millionaire-impresario Jorge Pasquel of Vera Cruz, lover of actress Maria Felix, who's currently filming in Spain. The press follows the happy foursome. There are rumors that Miroslava's having an affair with Pasquel, who seems to have developed a certain obsession about her.
	in Spain she also becomes good friends with Chula Prieto, an actress and close friend of famed matador Carlos Arruza, who introduced Prieto to Dominguin
	is too much in love with Mexico to go for a Hollywood career
December 54	after Christmas she returns to Mexico from Spain to spend the holidays with her family
	develops a closeness to Pasquel's security chief
Early 55	her movie Escuela de vagabundos becomes the box office hit of the year in Mexico
	Dominguin marries ex-Miss Italy and actress Lucia Bosè
8/9 May 55	takes her life by poisoning with barbiturates
10 March 55	two days later, she is found stretched out on her bed by her maid, Maria de Rosario Navarro. In one hand she clutches three farewell notes; in the other, a photo showing her with Dominguin and his mother.
	her first note is addressed to her father and remembers events in their happy life together with mother. This note is partly in Czech. The second note, to her brother, kindly asks for his understanding. It states: "Forgive me and forget." The third message, to her attorney Eduardo Lucio, deals with matters concerning her estate.
	the glass of Martini that she used to swallow the deadly dose is found at her bedside. Quickly her house is crowded by police, friends, and the press. Her close friends, actor Ernesto Alonso and actress Ninon Sevilla, are in her house a few minutes after her body is found. The police enter the house, alarmed by an unknown caller. A doctor of the Green Cross confirms her suicide. Her maid is never questioned by the police.
12 March 55	Jorge Pasquel is killed in a plane crash. His security chief mysteriously escapes the accident.
	an autopsy states that her death occurred thirty hours before she was found
	despite the fact that everything looks as if she took her own life over the marriage of Dominguin and Bosè, there are rumors that her death was no suicide at all. She may have had an affair with the married Pasquel, who disliked to be seen with her in public. Right after her death, Chula Prieto may have arranged her corpse with the letters and even written one or two herself to camouflage the truth.
	there are rumors she was a lesbian
	her corpse is prepared in a white transparent nightie beneath a strawberry-colored housecoat. At the funeral service she's laid in state, her open coffin closed only by glass.
	is cremated in Mexico City
	her father and friends are interviewed by the press. All try to confirm the version of a suicide. Her friend Caesar de Campo tells that she even had planned a trip to San Luis Potosi on May 7th.
3 April 55	Ensayo de un crimen premieres at the Chinese Theater in Mexico City, 23 days after her death
90	her father removes her urn from the cemetery so that the public will not know her final resting place
	her friend Edmundo Báez said that she was terribly shocked when she learned that she wasn't Jewish and only adopted by the Sterns. She had to consult a psychiatrist afterwards.
	her friend Stella Indy claims she was murdered by Pasquel's security chief on the orders from his boss, who later had him killed in an airplane crash to avenge Miroslava's death
93	her tragic life inspires the Mexican movie Miroslava by Alejandro Pelayo. Miroslava is played by Arielle Dombasle.

Sources: Humberto Corado, Somos, Fallen Angels by Kirk Crivello, Silver Screen
Recommended Books:
Links: Filmography Miroslava