2013 Essays

Beatriz Michelena

Lyons, MaryAnne

One of the first Hispanic women to attain stardom in the silent cinema, Beatriz Michelena appeared in at least a dozen films between 1914 and 1920 and headed her own production company, Beatriz Michelena Features, from 1917 until 1920. She was the daughter of Fernando Michelena, a well-known operatic tenor and the sister of Vera Michelena, also a screen actress. Like her father, Beatriz first found professional success as a singer. She turned to film in 1914, achieving immediate stardom with the release of her first film, Salomy Jane (1914), and was pictured on the front cover of the December 1914 issue of the New York Dramatic Mirror.