Linda Christian is a Hollywood actress of Mexican descent, who became popular in the 1940-1950s of the last century. Her career was largely overshadowed by her personal life and marriage with the movie star Tyrone Power. Bright red hair and a beautiful appearance attracted the attention of producers and directors, the road to Hollywood opened to her almost immediately. That's just the story she went into, more like a fatal beauty than a star.
Young years
Native Rosa Velter (later she took the pseudonym Christian Linda) was born in the city of Tampico (Mexico) on the Gulf of Mexico. Her father is an engineer from the Netherlands who worked in the oil industry, and her mother is a Mexican. She is the oldest of four children. Due to the specifics of the father’s profession, the family moved very often - the Middle East, Asia, Europe, South America. Linda was fluent in six languages ​​and was fluent in Russian and Arabic.
The future actress wanted to become a doctor after graduating from high school. However, her fate was changed by a chance meeting with Hollywood movie star Errol Flynn. He convinced the girl to become an actress and go to conquer the Dream Factory. The council did not go unnoticed, and already in 1943, the actress starred in her first film "Rock of Souls" on Mexican television. Then Christian Linda chose the pseudonym Velter.
Movie career
Having moved to California in the early 40s of the last century, she participated in little-known projects, until LB Mayer, secretary of the head of MGM studio, noticed her at a fashion show. It was real luck, he offered the young actress a contract immediately for seven years. The debut in American cinema took place in 1944 in the project “With arms in hand”, where Dina Shor played the main role. Then episodes in the films “Holiday in Mexico”, “Havana Club”, “Green Dolphin Street” followed. Linda Christian experienced real success after starring in the movie Tarzan and the Mermaids.
The actress became the first Bond girl on the screen. The debut film adaptation of the agent’s adventures, based on the book “Casino Royale”, was released in 1954. The role of Valerie Mathis brought her fame and added fans. However, the Hollywood career did not last long. In the early 60s, the actress left America and moved to her homeland in Mexico, continuing to periodically participate in soap operas for two decades.
Linda Christian: personal life
The actress was married twice. They met their first husband in Italy. As the actress admitted, it was love at first sight, the beautiful and famous Hollywood actor of a romantic role Tyrone Power won her heart right away. They married on January 27, 1949 in the church of Santa Francesca Romana in Rome. The ceremony was dubbed the wedding of the century, it attracted a huge number of public, including several thousand fans of the actors.
The couple divorced in 1956, as Linda Christian herself admitted (biography, photo in the text) "she was pregnant almost all the time of her marriage with Power, losing three children first and then giving birth to two girls." One of them is Romina Power , a world famous Italian singer who has long performed in a duet with her husband Al Bano. In the photo, the actress is surrounded by her family: daughters and granddaughters.
Immediately after the divorce, the actress began an affair with the famous and married racer Alfonso de Portago. Relations lasted a year, until his tragic death during the race. The second husband of the actress was the British actor Edmund Perdom. The marriage lasted about a year.
"Tarzan and the Mermaids"
The adventure film directed by Robert Flory was released in 1948. The plot is based on the world-famous story of the monkey-raised Tarzan and Lady Jane. Years have passed, the couple lives quietly in the virgin Amazonian forest, and their son is safely studying in London. Linda Christian played the role of the charming mermaid, whom she saves on one of the days of Tarzan. She tells the story of the terrible tradition of her tribe - to make a human sacrifice to the gods. But before she could finish the story, she was being abducted, and the master of the jungle rushed to the rescue.
"Casino Royale"
The 1954 film is the very first film adaptation of the famous novel by Jan Fleming. The plot is slightly changed in comparison with the original source, however, like some characters. For example, the heroine of Linda Christian is not in the book, the image of an agent girl was created specifically for the film. Her partner on the set was Barry Nelson.
The action takes place in France. The head of the union Le Cipher is working with the Soviet Union. However, the money goes not only for the development of a spy network, but also for personal enrichment. He opens lucrative brothels, which are soon banned in France. Caught on the brink of ruin, he puts the last money on a game in a casino. James Bond should stop him from winning, returning to the political and business arena.
Linda Christian, whose films are not so numerous, could build a very successful career. She had all the data for this - an expressive appearance and acting talent. Professional development was largely influenced by her marriage, and then the death of her lover and ex-husband. Devoting herself to the family, she practically left the cinema.