| Marisol | |
| Birth Name: | Josefa Flores González |
| Birth Date: | 4 February 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Málaga, Spain |
| Othername: | Pepa Flores |
| Occupation: | Singer, actress |
| Spouse: | |
| Children: | 3, including María and |
| Mother: | María González |
| Father: | Juan Flores |
Josefa Flores González (born 4 February 1948), known professionally as Marisol or Pepa Flores, is a retired Spanish singer and actress who was an evolving icon in Spain since her first appearance in 1960 as a child star until her retreat from the spotlight in 1985.
Marisol was born Josefa Flores González on 4 February 1948 in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. From early childhood, she demonstrated a love of singing and flamenco dance. In 1959 she was discovered by film producer Manuel Goyanes, who saw her on television. Marisol became a sensation both in Spain and overseas.
Her passion for dance and music was passed down to her by her grandmother Victoria. She entered a choir and dance group named Los joselitos del cante belonging to the Sección Femenina's national organization .[1] One of her first televised performances was seen by Mari Carmen Goyanes, daughter of producer Manuel Goyanes, who convinced her father that the girl she had seen on television was the actress and singer they needed. The producer convinced Pepa Flores's parents, and she finally signed an exclusive contract with them that made her a millionaire.
The career of Marisol, her artistic name, had just begun. She was extremely popular in Spain and Latin America. She received dance, acting, and declamation classes taught by the best teachers, with the idea of making her the star of children's and youth cinema.
In her first film, A Ray of Light (Luis Lucia, 1960), a huge merchandising campaign was organized around the new star, with books, dolls, cards, and all kinds of objects with the image of the girl. Each film premiere included a tour of Spain and Hispanic countries to promote it, with all kinds of events creating tumults and crowds at the airports. Televisions, interviews, and hundreds of photo shoots, in addition to the film shootings, prevented her from having a childhood like that of any other girl. Columbia Pictures wanted to buy the rights to Manuel Goyanes to continue exploiting her artistic career, but the producer rejected it.[2] Luis Lucia propelled her to national stardom in her two following films An Angel Has Arrived (1961) and Tómbola (1962).
She also established herself as a singer thanks to the songs she performed in her films. Some of her best-known songs from her first three films were "", "", "Bambina", "", "Estando contigo", "Chiquitina", and "Nueva melodía".
In 1963 she starred in Marisol rumbo a Río, where she played twins (similar to Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap) and sang "Bossanova junto a ti", "Muchachita", "¡Oh, Tony!", and "Guajiras". Marisol co-starred with Robert Conrad the 1964 film , in which she sang "Me conformo". Mel Ferrer directed her in Cabriola in 1965, where she sang "Cabriola", "¡Ay, vagabundo!", "Ya no me importas nada", and "Sevillanas". She appeared in the 1964 film with Dúo Dinámico. The film had biographical elements, featuring Marisol singing "Mi pequeña estrella", "Typical Spanish", and "Solo a ti". She appeared in the 1964 film La historia de Bienvenido, a story about a donkey.
In 1967, Marisol starred in the comedy , as the daughter of actress Isabel Garcés, and sang "La Boda", "Johnny", "Belen, Belen" (featuring Peret), and "La Tarara" (inspired by a García Lorca poem). She appeared in (1968), where she sang "La nieve" (her most popular song in South America, composed by Juan Pardo and Rocío Dúrcal's husband, Júnior). In 1969, she appeared in the unsuccessful and in the musical comedy , where she sang "", a song composed by Palito Ortega.
Marisol received the Best Actress Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for her role in Los días del pasado (1978). She also appeared in The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem; The Girl from the Red Cabaret (1973) with Mel Ferrer, and (1975) with Pilar Bardem.
As an adult, Marisol changed her stage name to her given name, Pepa Flores and appeared in Carlos Saura's Blood Wedding (based on García Lorca's play), and in Carmen (1983). She played the title role of Mariana Pineda in the Televisión Española (TVE) series Proceso a Mariana Pineda in 1984, and was applauded for her lead role in the 1985's with Antonio Banderas.
On 16 May 1969, Marisol married Carlos Goyanes Perojo, son of her producer. They separated in 1972.[3] [4]
In 1973, she started a relationship with dancer Antonio Gades, and she has three daughters with him. María Esteve, the eldest, is an actress, and, the youngest, is a pop flamenco singer. After her divorce from Perojo, Flores and Gades married in 1982 in Cuba and their godparents were Fidel Castro and Alicia Alonso. They divorced on 1986,[5] and Gades died in 2004. She was a sympathizer (but not a member) of the Spanish Communist Party, distancing herself from the party after her separation from Gades.
Pepa Flores is retired and lives with Massimo Stecchini, her partner since 1987, in Malaga, where she works for charitable causes.
In the wake of the Me Too movement, the claims Marisol made to Francisco Umbral and Interviú in the late 1970s about the sexual abuse she underwent as a child star resurfaced in Spanish Vanity Fair in 2018.[6]
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | A Ray of Light | Marisol | |
| 1961 | An Angel Has Arrived | Marisol | |
| 1962 | Tómbola | Marisol | |
| 1963 | Marisol Rumbo a Río | Marisol / Mariluz | |
| 1964 | Marisol | ||
| 1964 | La Historia de Bienvenido | Marisol | |
| 1964 | Marisol | ||
| 1965 | Cabriola | Chica | |
| 1967 | Marisol | ||
| 1968 | Marisol Collado | ||
| 1969 | Carola Jungbunzlav | ||
| 1969 | Patricia | ||
| 1969 | |||
| 1973 | The Corruption of Chris Miller | Chris Miller | |
| 1973 | The Girl from the Red Cabaret | María Marcos | |
| 1975 | Juna | ||
| 1978 | Los días del pasado | Juana | |
| 1981 | Blood Wedding | ||
| 1983 | Carmen | ||
| 1985 | Isabel |
| Date | Title | Role | Network | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 April 1961 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Herself | CBS, United States | ||
| 24 June 1962 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Herself | CBS, United States | ||
| 19 October 1962 | De Rudi Carrell Show | Herself | VARA, Netherlands | ||
| 31 July 1965 | Sábado 64 | Herself | |||
| 2 October 1965 | Noche del sábado | Herself | |||
| 9 October 1966 | Gran Premio | Herself | |||
| October 1968 | Herself | Televisión Española, Spain | |||
| 17 May 1969 | Galas del sábado | Herself | Televisión Española, Spain | ||
| December 1969 | Galas del sábado | Herself | Televisión Española, Spain | ||
| 1969 | Televisión Española, Spain | ||||
| 7 June 1970 | Galas del sábado | Herself | Televisión Española, Spain | ||
| 1972 | Herself | Televisión Española, Spain | |||
| 25 November 1972 | 1st OTI Song Contest | Herself | OTI | Representing Televisión Española and placing 3rd with the song Niña | |
| Nov/Dec 1984 | Proceso a Mariana Pineda | Mariana Pineda | Televisión Española, Spain | 5 episodes, credited as Pepa Flores |