Montez Gracia Family

In a world weary of war and dispirited by the ravages of the Great Depression, Hollywood at the turn of the 1940s concocted a wildly popular, effective lot of escapist fare (though often cheaply made) to regale the sick at heart worldwide. Universal Pictures, more often than not, led in producing such films. We know about the monster movies: wolf men, invisible men -- and invisible women too, for that matter. We know about Sherlock Holmes chasing not killer hounds in 1890 but chasing killer Nazis a half- century later. Such were among typical Universal "B" productions. Enter Maria de Santo Silas -- Maria Montez. This daughter of a Spanish diplomat traveled extensively after being educated in the Canary Islands and attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to establish herself as a stage actress in Europe. In 1940 she found herself in New York City, a model. Her screen career began in 1941, with Universal casting her in bit parts. On account of her strikingly exotic looks and her exotic accent, the studio soon paired her with other "exotics" (Sabu and Turhan Bey), and usually with a more "home-style" hero (Jon Hall), in a series of low-budget adventures, filmed in Technicolor and situated in fantasy lands, with Montez herself often situated in revealing dress. With Montez threatened by all manner of nastiness -- from evil caliphs to man-eating sharks to her own cobra-worshipping twin sister (!) -- her pictures soon became immensely popular, even though she could not really act, could not dance and could not sing. Audiences flocked to see her films, just to witness the trials and endurance of an alluring beauty in distress (as well, perhaps, as to glimpse some scantily clad, beauteous flesh). The Depression having long since passed, the end of World War II meant also the end of flying carpets and sand dunes and deadly reptiles as potential subjects for attracting moviegoers. That bit of history, plus a bit of girth added to Montez's frame, led her and her husband, the actor Jean-Pierre Aumont, to abandon Hollywood for Europe, where she would appear in a handful of French and Italian adventure films. On 7 September 1951 Maria Montez was discovered drowned in her bath, possibly having first suffered a heart attack.

Consuelo Gracia Vidal aka Julia Andre was one of the younger sisters of Maria Montez aka "The Queen of Technicolor" and she went to Hollywood to make a career under the wing of her famous sister.

Consuelo was the daughter of Isidoro Gracia y García, a Spaniard from Garafía, La Palma, Canary Islands (Spain), and Regla María Teresa Vidal y Recio, a Dominican of Criollo descent.

She was the 7th child of the couple, her older siblings being Isidoro Rafael (b. 1911), Maria África "Maria Montez" (b. 1912), Aquilino Mario (b. 1914), Joaquín David (b. 1915), Luis Antonio (b. 1923), and Ada "Adita" (b. 1924); and her younger being Jaime (b. 1928), Luz "Lucita" (b. 1929), and Teresita Montez (b. 1930).

In 1932 her oldest sister Maria left Barahona to Hollywood and there she became famous. Thanks to this, Maria sent gifts to her family, and her younger sisters Adita, Consuelo and Lucita were the first girls in Barahona to wear the latest fashions.

When Maria's husband Jean-Pierre Aumont left Hollywood to fight in the Second World War (1943), Maria decided that her sisters must go to Hollywood and start a career there, so one year later, Lucita, Adita and Consuelo (Teresita was still very young), went to Hollywood where they studied English and dramatic art. The three sisters were very good at it and even Universal Pictures approved that Maria, with Lucita and Consuelo attended together the most important events so everybody may meet them.

Maria was very happy to have her sisters under her wing, and they lived together in the same big house, as in the old days in Barahona when they were little.

Although Maria put big efforts in her younger sisters to succeed as actresses, they preferred a more classic way of life, and soon found love. Consuelo got married to Universal publicist Kenneth Carter in August 1946.

Consuelo had a great Hollywood promotion and in 1947 while being pregnant of her first child, she had a small role in "Pirates of Monterey" but she didn't pursue a film career as she wasn't fluent with the English language.

She worked for a short time as a model but she quit as she became mother of four children: Ken (born in 1947 or 1948), William, Jimmy and Cristina.

After Maria's premature passing in 1951 aged only 39, Consuelo went to live to Southern California with her family and her sister Adita.

In February 2009 she was living in a clinic in Los Angeles as she suffered from Alzheimer's disease. As for 14th January 2012, Consuelo was still alive.

Teresa Gracia Vidal aka Teresita Montez was an international model and occasional actress in the 1950s, and the youngest sister of Holywood actress Maria Montez, "Queen of Technicolor".

Teresita was the youngest child of Isidoro Gracia y García, a Spaniard from Garafía, La Palma, Canary Islands (Spain), and Regla María Teresa Vidal y Recio, a Dominican of Criollo descent.

She was the ninth child, her older siblings being Isidoro Rafael (b. 1911), Maria África "Maria Montez" (b. 1912), Aquilino Mario (b. 1914), Joaquín David (b. 1915), Luis Antonio (b. 1923), Ada "Adita" (b. 1924), Consuelo aka Julia Andre (b.1925), Jaime (b. 1928), and Luz "Lucita" (b. 1929).

In 1932 her oldest sister Maria left Barahona to Hollywood and there she became famous. Thanks to this, Maria sent gifts to her family.

Teresita was the last of Maria's siblings to go to Hollywood to make a career under the wing of her famous sister.

Soon after Teresita arrived to Hollywood, María and her husband Jean-Pierre Aumont decided to go to live to France, so in 1948, all of them and Maria's and Teresita's sister Ada went to Paris. In due time, this was the best option as Teresita preferred fashion than cinema.

In France, after taking modeling lessons, she began modeling in 1949 and she was booked for Vogue magazine and usually modeled Jacques Heim designs. The photographers who mainly worked with her were Willy Maywald and Georges Saad and was regularly seen in fashion spreads in magazines like L'Officiel and L'Art et la Mode.

On September 7, 1951, Teresita and her sister Adita, who were living together with María and Jean-Pierre, found the body of her sister Maria in her bathtub and managed to take her out from here, immediately they called the emergency services and the firefighters but nothing could be done to revive the Dominican Star.

In 1952 Teresita was dating Yves Manuel, whom she later married, and by 1956/57 they had their daughter Raina Paris.

Around 1959 Teresita had a strong and passionate relationship with Italian actor Maurizio Arena that meant the ending of her marriage to Yves Manuel. However, her relationship with the Italian actor didn't last as he fooled her.

In 1963 Teresita attended her niece Tina Aumont's wedding with Christian Marquand, and as Teresita kept some jewels of María, in due time she gave them to Tina.

Teresita traveled a lot, she first lived in France, then she had been in Mallorca (Spain), Brussels (Belgium), then she lived in Vienna (Austria), and Los Angeles (USA).

Later on, she went to live to Mexico to be close to her sister Lucita and her nephews Yves, Jean-Pierre and Marco Flavio Leleu.

In 2016 she decided to go to Brussels, Belgium, and with the help of her only child Raïna Paris, she settled there for good.

She lived there until her passing, on 17th January 2023 at 93 years old.

Tina Aumont was born on 14 February 1946 in Hollywood, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Texas Across the River (1966), Man, Pride & Vengeance (1967) and Satyricon (1969). She was married to Jean-François Ferriol and Christian Marquand. She died on 28 October 2006 in Port-Vendres, Pyrénées-Orientales, France.

Maria Montez is a former child star, TV and stage actress and model, and later TV news presenter, from Dominican Repulic. She was named after her aunt, Hollywood star Maria Montez, "Queen of Technicolor".

She was born María Montez Gracia Fiallo, the daughter of Isidoro Gracia Vidal, Hollywood actress María Montez' older brother, and Safo Zuleika Fiallo Henríquez. She was named María Montez (as 2 first names) in honor to her famous aunt deceased only the previous month.

Since she was a little girl, María Montez Gracia Fiallo showed she had talent for performing. She starred in the TV program of the Dominican Republic "La Hora del Moro (1959)" and "Los Jueves de Luchy (1961)". Soon, and along with the girls Luchy Vicioso and Aida Lucía, Maria acquired great popularity in the whole country.

As a teenager, she earned a scholarship from the Fundación de Crédito Educativo, and with it she was able to travel to Madrid, Spain, in order to study dramatic art. She moved with her mother Safo after her father had died. Later, she appeared in Spanish TV shows and films, being her first one the popular TV show "Escala en hi-fi (1961)"and she was also very active in theatre for many years there too. Maria also starred in international productions from films, TV and the stage from the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and France. For years she was part of the Roy Hart Theatre company in London.

She married Armando Guiseppe D'Alesandro Tavarez. She stopped her artistic career when she was expecting her first child, daughter Desiree María D'Alessandro, who was born with down syndrome (ca. 1982/83). Two years later she had a son, Ricardo Joseppe D'Alessandro (b. ca 1984/85).

Between December 1980 and May 1983 she was the news announcer of the pioneer "Mundo Visión (1969) News" filmed in Color Visión studios, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Since 1985 she's been working as a freelance Real Estate Agent, and since 2012 she is a Sales Manager at Gracia Realty.

She graduated in psychology from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Uerña (UNPHU) in Santo Domingo, in the year 2000 after 5 years.

In 2007 she was Art Dramatic teacher in Punta Cana International School.

Most recently, she appeared in the 2014 documentary "De María África a María Montez, Un mito en Technicolor (2014)".

Jean Pierre Leleu was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. Jean Pierre is known for Americano (2016), K9 World Cup (2015) and Legend Quest: The Legend of La Nahuala (2007). Jean Pierre is married to Gioconda Úveda Rivera . They have one child.

Dr. Raïna Manuel Gracia was born between 1956 & 1958 in Paris, France, the only child of model Teresa "Teresita Montez" Gracia Vidal, and Yves Manuel. She is of French and Caribbean descent. Her parents divorced when she was little.

She was raised in France and England. Fairy tales and Legends were her refuges. They helped her understand the difficulties of her childhood. By the age of twelve, she had read most of the myths and legends of the world. From Ireland and Russia to Arabia. In her early twenties she moved to the USA.

Her love of transformational story telling has taken her from an MFA in Film from Columbia University to a Ph.D. in Mythological studies and Depth Psychology. She is a published writer of non-fiction, including "The Mother-to-Be's Dream Book", published by Warner Books, poetry, and several scholarly articles, as well as a documentary filmmaker, "The Bridges of My Father", Cannes Film Festival 2009. She also produced and starred in the one-woman show "Anaïs" (based on the diaries of Anaïs Nin), which was performed in America and in Europe.

In 2022 completed her first novel, a mythical fairy tale, "Arabella & the Wise Women". Her understanding of what gives meaning to daily life has led her to her work with dreams, and to include meditation practice in her classrooms.

She is a lecturer and scholar who speaks on several subjects, including "Awakening the Magician Within," "What Women Want", "The Goddess," "Love: Primal agent of change", "Love and Sacred Medicine," "War, Trauma and Spiritual Transformation", and "The Major Arcanas of the Tarot as a Sacred Life Path". "The Cradle and The Crown" is her passion. It is a unique process she has developed over time. With it she helps people recover their natural innate joy and claim a felt sense of inner authority. She has been learning the frame drum, the ancient drum of priestesses, and Natural Horsemanship with the great teacher and trainer Chris Sobenes.

"To come to a deeper understanding of the Self, and our connection to the Mystery, and Magic of this Life, one must embrace the relationship between ourselves and the world around us; one must have the awareness that we are part of the Natural World, not separate from it."

Nowadays, she lives in Ojai, California with her husky mix Numen and her Palomino horse Quincy.

Dominic Fuentes is known for María Montez: The Movie (2014), Roger Zayas: Consuelo (2024) and De María África a María Montez, Un mito en Technicolor (2014). She was previously married to Tommy Galán.