Marisa Paredes, star of numerous Pedro Almodóvar films, dies at 78

Spanish acting legend Marisa Paredes has died in Madrid from heart failure at the age of 78.

Paredes started acting at 14 and had appeared in more than 75 movies during her career, including Pedro Almodóvar’s Dark Habits (1983), High Heels (1991), The Flower of My Secret (1995), All About My Mother (1999) and The Skin I Live In (2011), earning the moniker of "Almodóvar's girl". 

"Spanish cinema is left without one of its most iconic actresses, Marisa Paredes," the Spanish film academy said in a statement. "Strong, ambivalent, heartbroken, passionate, enigmatic and ultimately very human women made up the acting work of the woman from Madrid," it added.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X that he was "devastated" by the death of Paredes, "one of the most important actresses our country has produced". 

"Her presence in cinema and theatre and her commitment to democracy will be an example for future generations. A heartfelt hug to her family and loved ones. Thank you, Marisa."

Gilles Jacob, former president of the Cannes Film Festival, paid tribute to Paredes on X for her "calm grace, that gentle cheerfulness that she ignited with one look of her pale eyes".

Paredes was born in a working-class part of Madrid in 1946 as the country recovered from the 1936-1939 civil war under the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. 

She started in classic theatre, performing Chekhov and Ibsen, and appeared in Fernando Fernán Gómez’s El Mundo Sigue (1965), Frenando Trueba’s debut Opera Prima (1980), as well as Agustí Villaronga’s In a Glass Cage (1986), Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful (1997) and Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone (2001). 

Elected president of the Spanish Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences from 2000 to 2003, she was outspoken and endorsed on-stage protests at the 2003 Goya Awards – protests by multiple winners aimed at José María Aznar’s government's support for the invasion of Iraq.

In 2018, Paredes was awarded an honorary Goya.  

She is survived by her partner Chema Prado, a former head of the Filmoteca Española, and her daughter, María Isasi. 

Additional sources • AFP, Liberation