Actress. Born in Guanajay, Cuba, her family lost everything during the Cuban Revolution of 1933, and she, with her mother, fled to the United States. As a teen in New York, she began singing in clubs, she was spotted in 1942 at the Copacabana, and offered a contract with MGM. Moving to California, she began work, only to be dropped before filming commenced. A return to New York followed, and it wasn't until 1945 she landed a five picture contract with Republic Studios. She made her film debut in "Along the Navajo Trail" (1945), followed by "Mexicana" (1945) and "On the Old Spanish Trail" (1947). She married singer Chu-Chu Martinez, with whom she had one daughter. When he then took her to Mexico, and told her she wasn't to work, she filed for divorce, took her daughter, and returned to the US. She becomes a favorite of producer Herbert J. Yates and appeared in "Old Los Angeles" (1948), "Susanna Pass" (1949), "The Golden Stallion" (1949), another six pictures released in 1950 including the Roy Rogers, Dale Evans vehicle, "Twilight in the Sierras," and four more in 1951. In January 1953, she married actor, Grant Withers, John Wayne served as the best man at the wedding. A two-year marriage ended in divorce. After wrapping her contract with Republic, she opened at the Coconut Grove to rave reviews. Her film career, however, slowed considerably, she appeared in "Sweethearts on Parade" (1953), "Tropic Zone" (1953). She married again in 1956 to entertainer to Ismael Alfonso Halfs. She earned a role in her biggest film, "Rio Bravo" in 1959, and was divorced the following year. She married for the last time to Dr. Ricardo Pego shortly after the divorce became final. There was talk about her starring in the Lupe Velez story, but nothing came of it. Her last film appearance was in "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" (1966). On March 12, 1966, she was found dead on the kitchen floor of her North Hollywood home. No cause of death was ever released, and no autopsy performed; speculation ran the gamut from influenza to murder. Her daughter commissioned author Serena Burdick to write a work of historical fiction based on her mother's life, "Find Me in Havana" was published in 2021.