Significant film posters from the career of Mexican actress Maria Félix are on display for the first time ever

CHICAGO, April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time ever, significant film posters from the career of Mexican actress Maria Félix are on display at the Monttessuy Center for the Arts - American University of Paris - MARIA FELIX: The Making of a Star Image in Mexican Cinema, Posters from the Collection of Dwight Cleveland, by appointment only through April 17, 2026.

Maria Félix was the most stunningly beautiful of all the Spanish speaking stars of 20th Century cinema. She became known worldwide by making movies far beyond her native Mexico in Europe and South America. She never accepted a supporting role in her 47-film career, spanning 28 years in front of the camera.

Her first role became her seminal moment as a leading lady in the 1943 Fernando de Fuentes directed film Doña Bárbara. She was forever after known endearingly as La Doña to Spanish speaking audiences around the globe. Maria refused submissive roles and, mirroring her own personality she only portrayed powerful, headstrong women in films like Enamorada (1946) and Río Escondido (1948).

While her native Mexican predecessors like Lupe Velez and Dolores del Rio learned English, went to Hollywood and hoped to conquer the U.S. audience, and found themselves up against the likes of Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Jean Harlow and Mae West - Maria never made a film in the United States.

Maria stayed in Mexico and worked with renowned international directors like Jean Renoir's French Cancan (1954) and Luis Buñuel's La fièvre monte à El Pao (1959) launching her to international stardom and making movies in Argentina, France, Italy and Spain. 

As a fashion celebrity Maria's picture graced more magazines and gossip columns than any other star. She was intimate friends with two of the most well-known Mexican artists, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, who helped give rise to her celebrity status.

Maria Félix's life and career were defined by a powerful and relentless personality exuding bold Spanish femininity.

MARIA FELIX: The Making of a Star Image in Mexican Cinema, Posters from the Collection of Dwight Cleveland 
Monttessuy Center for the Arts - American University of Paris
9 bis rue de Monttessuy
75007, Paris
by appointment only through April 17, 2026

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SOURCE Dwight Cleveland