BELÉN, ANA

(1951- )

Ana Belén was born María del Pilar Cuesta Acosta and started out as a teenage actress in 1966, in sentimental fare like the musicalZampo y yo(Zampo and Me,Luis Lucia), in which she starred as a neglected teenager who invents an imaginary clown-like father figure (played byFernando Rey, no less). Soon she showed more discernment, doing a number of film plays fortelevisionand accepting roles in off-beatTercera Víafilms like Roberto Bodegas'Españolas en París(Spanish Women in Paris, 1971). Her risk-taking image was consolidated withJaime deArmiñán'sEl gran amor del capitán Brando(Captain Brando's Great Love, 1975),PilarMiró's feminist debutLa petición(The Request),Eloy de laIglesia'sLa criatura(The Creature, 1977), and the obscure metaphorical melodramaSonámulos(Sleepwalkers, 1978), directed byManuel Gutiérrez Aragón. At this time, she also became a well-known pop singer, with a number of chart-topping singles. She often teamed up with her husband, Victor Manuel, one of the more emblematic late-Francoism songwriters, and she had a hugely successful recording and concert career. Both were politically committed, publicly supporting the Communist Party in the first general elections.

Belén was one of the key performers of the Transition, appearing in earnestZeitgeistfilms includingLa petición(The Request, 1976) and Jordi Cadena's adaptation of Juan Marsé,La oscura historia de la prima Montse(The Obscure Tale of Cousin Montse, 1978). Other roles of this period include her portrayal of a woman who marries for money inDemonios en el jardín(Demons in the Garden, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, 1982) and the poor girl forced into prostitution inLa colmena(The Beehive,Mario Camus, 1982).Then, around the time of her roles inSé infiel y no mires con quién(Be Wanton and Tread no Shame,Fernando Trueba, 1985) andLa corte del Faraón(Pharaoh's Court,José Luis García Sánchez, 1985), she discovered glamour, and a particular kind of haughty sophistication became the most remarkable part of her image.

In a number of films during the next two decades, Belén specialized in the cool, elegant, glamorous woman, flawlessly attired and with a certain unemotional coldness, and some audiences perceived unresolved contradictions between her mask and her avowed political ideas. She alternated between singing and acting, but by the early 1990s, her film roles were becoming less committed and more rote. When, as inEl amor perjudica seriamente a la salud(Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health,Manuel Gómez Pereira, 1996), aloofness suited the role, she was note perfect. But her range suffered, and she found it hard to regain former versatility, particularly when called upon to emote.

In 1991, she directed the unremarkableCómo ser mujer y no morir en el intento, (How To Be a Woman and Not Die in the Attempt) starringCarmen Maura. In films likeVicenteAranda'sLibertarias(Freedom Fighters, 1996), she was eclipsed even byVictoriaAbril's supporting turn and inLa pasión turca(The Turkish Passion, 1994), also directed by Aranda, she failed to show the passion required by the role. She missed the opportunity to play the protagonist inPedroAlmodóvar'sLa flor de mi secreto/Flower of My Secret, in 1995, which suggests that her interest in movies was waning. Her film appearances have become rare since the mid-1990s. In 1995, she received the Gold Medal for Professional Achievement in Film, awarded by the SpanishAcademia de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas.