Amparo Muñoz

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the 19th century noblewoman, see María Amparo Muñoz y Borbón, 1st Countess of Vista Alegre.
In this
Spanish name, the first or paternal surname
is Muñoz and the second or maternal family name is Quesada.
Amparo Muñoz y Quesada
Born
Amparo Muñoz Quesada

(1954-06-21)21 June 1954[1]
Vélez-Málaga (Málaga), Spain[1]
Died27 February 2011(2011-02-27) (aged 56)[2]
Málaga, Spain[2]
Occupation(s)Beauty queen
Actress
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1976; div. 1983)​
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleMiss Spain 1973
Miss Universe 1974
Hair colorLight brown
Eye colorGreen

Amparo Muñoz y Quesada (21 June 1954 – 27 February 2011) was a Spanish actress, model and beauty queen who won the

Manila, Philippines
, being the first and only Spaniard Miss Universe titleholder to date.

Muñoz surrendered both the title and crown after six months due to refusal to follow the rules and regulations of the

Miss Universe Organization
. During that time, no successor was willing nor assigned to officially take her vacated placement.

After her shortened reign, Muñoz became a popular actress in Spain and starred in several comedies, including

Málaga, Spain
.

Early life

Amparo Muñoz was born on 21 June 1954 in Vélez-Málaga to a blacksmith father and a housewife. She was the firstborn child among six children. Her godparents helped raise her at age seven due to their family's poverty.

After finishing high school, she worked as an administrative office assistant for "The Southern" local newspaper in Málaga. The

gay male director of the newspaper agency strongly encouraged Muñoz to enter the beauty contest, "El Certamen de Belleza de Costa del Sol" (English: Miss Sun Coast Beauty Contest) which gained her an entry sash to participate and won in the 1973 Miss Spain contest in Lanzarote
city.

Miss Universe

Amparo Muñoz came from the town of Vélez-Málaga (Málaga) in Andalusia, where she had won the city title, to compete at the Miss Spain contest held in Lanzarote. After winning, she went on to win the Miss Universe 1974 pageant in the Philippines.[1]

According to her

Robert de Niro and Al Pacino.[citation needed] Remaining in Malaga, she chose to stay with personal friends and later gave up her crown after she refused her upcoming travel assignment to Japan,[1] at times even throwing her crown against a wall and down in the balcony window, which often required jewel repair.[3]

Nevertheless, the

Miss Universe Organization in an effort to save its public reputation of the company thoroughly insisted that Muñoz would remain as the official titleholder of Miss Universe 1974, since the title was not offered to first runner-up Miss Wales Helen Elizabeth Morgan – who eventually won Miss World 1974 and was herself ultimately dethroned a few days after winning the said crown. Due to the refusal of Muñoz to pass the coronation of her successor, the 21st Miss Universe was assigned to pass on the Miss Universe crown in 1975.[citation needed
]

Cinematic career

After her victory in pageantry, various cinematic directors took interest in her. Her first steps in cinema came in 1973 with in Wholesome Married Life, directed by

Clara es el Precio (Vicente Aranda, 1975), and The Other Bedroom (Eloy de la Iglesia, 1976), in which Amparo starred alongside the man who would be eventually her husband, the actor and singer Patxi Andión
.

After appearances in Volvoreta (

Emilio Martínez Lázaro (Lulú of the Night), Imanol Uribe (The Black Moon). She became an instant celebrity in Spain, alongside the likes of Nino Bravo, Pedro Carrasco, Rocío Dúrcal, Rocío Jurado, Camilo Sesto, La Pandilla
and other Spanish celebrities of the 1970s, following her victory at Miss Universe with a fruitful show business career.

In 1979, Muñoz acted in the comedy

Mama Turns 100, by Carlos Saura. This was followed by performances in 1982's Todo un Hombre (He's all a Man), 1999's A Paradise Under the Stars and 2003's El Tahur. In 1980, she went to live in Mexico and partnered with Chilean
national Flavio Labarca, who ran an antique shop.

In 1983, she co—starred with the 18th Miss Universe in a Philippine film "Hayop Sa Ganda" (English: Savagely Beautiful), but animosity developed due to her temperament and tardiness on camera set while opposing the film producers including her own talent manager, Natalie Palanca whom she physically slapped in public. For this offense, Munoz was legally sued by Palanca in the Philippine court (Trial in absentia) and was later ruled guilty of verdict by the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila.

In 1989, she returned to mainstream

Roman Catholic, Muñoz later dabbled and experimented with various New Age philosophies, including Tibetan Buddhism, Indonesian—Balinese Hinduism and Soka Gakkai
practices during the early 1990s.

Returning to Spain in 1996, growing

Human Immunodeficiency Virus coupled with poverty and melancholia ravaged Muñoz' public image, along with the physical decrepitude allegedly causing emotional shame and her imminent withdrawal from society.[4]

Personal life

In 1976, Muñoz met singer-songwriter Francisco Andion Gonzalez, who would become her husband, while making The Other Bedroom. Accordingly, she claimed mistreatment from Andion and later had a miscarriage of pregnancy. They were married on 16 May 1976 and divorced in 1978. However, due to the irregularities of this marriage according to the Constitution of Spain, it was not legally finalized until 1983.

Afterwards, Muñoz had brief romantic relationships with

drug abuse
by which Muñoz called off in both relationships.

The most significant extramarital relationship of Muñoz's life was with Spaniard film producer

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 52nd Academy Awards.[7]
The relationship subsequently received much publicity.

At the earlier stage of their relationship, Munoz requested a divorce from Querejeta, who refused to divorce for the sake of public embarrassment (as coming from a devout

Roman Catholic
family) with his only daughter, Gracia Querejeta. He remained legally married to his wife, Maria del Carmen Marin throughout their relationship—although he and his legal wife had been living separate lives, there was never an official split and neither party pursued a divorce. Accordingly, after their reunion as a couple in 1996, Muñoz as a mistress, no longer interfered to break this union, and also never fought for neither marital nor conjugal rights.

Death

Muñoz had been long struggling with health issues. In 1975, she was medically diagnosed with mental depression. In the spring of 1991, she suffered from acute pancreatitis.[citation needed] In 2003, she was formally diagnosed with a brain tumor along with an arterial malformation in the vicinity of her Cerebellum.

Muñoz was advised by her physicians of imminent death in which she suffered two cerebral aneurysms, the first case which paralyzed half of her body.[8][9] She died on 27 February 2011 (aged 56) in Málaga, and was given a highly private funeral at her own personal request. Her mortal remains were cremated on 1 March 2011 and her gravestone is marked at the Roman Catholic cemetery of Saint Michael in Málaga, Spain.[citation needed]

Filmography

Film

Year Title of Film Role Notes
1973 El diablo en persona Lupita
1974 Vida conyugal sana modelo publicitaria
Tocata y fuga de Lolita Lolita Villar
1975 Sensualidad Ana
Clara es el precio
 		Clara Valverde
1976 La otra alcoba Diana
Mauricio, mon amour Doctora Verónica Anglada
Volvoreta Volvoreta
1977 Del amor y de la muerte Elena
Acto de posesión Berta
1979 El anillo matrimonial Alba
Mamá cumple cien años
 		Natalia
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Jury Prize for Best Cinematography San Sebastián International Film Festival
El tahúr Alejandra
1980 Memorias de un visitador médico Magdalena
Dedicatory Clara Nominated—
Festival de Cannes
1981 El Gran Triunfo Rosita Montes
La mujer del ministro Teresa
Como México no hay dos Silvia Escandon
Las siete cucas Cresencia
Trágala, perro Sor Patrocinio
1982 Si las mujeres mandaran (o mandasen) Agustina
Hablamos esta noche Clara
El gran mogollón María Ángeles
1983 Todo un hombre Laura Monteros
Hayop sa ganda
Se me sale cuando me río
1984 El balcón abierto La Mujer
1985 La reina del mate Cristina
1986
Lulú de noche
 		Nina
Delirios de amor Angélica Durán
1987 Las dos orillas
Los invitados La catalana
En penumbra Helena
1988 La luna negra Lilit Premiere
Sitges Film Festival and Fantasporto Film Festival
1989 Al acecho
1996 Familia Carmen Premiere
Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata
Licántropo Dra. Mina Westenra
1997 Fotos Rosa
Mejor película en Sitges Film Festival
Nominated - Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival
Elles
 		Maria Premiere Palm Springs International Film Festival
1999 Tierra de cañones La Cantero
2000 Un paraíso bajo las estrellas Olivia Premiere Sundance Film Festival

Television

Year Title Role
1968 Hora once
1976 Las aventuras del Hada Rebeca
1982 Sonata de estío Niña Chole
1983 Las pícaras
Sonatas Niña Chole
1987 Vida privada Concha Pujol
1989 Brigada Central Marisa
1993 Los cuentos de Borges Gracia
2011 El Caso de la Novia Dividida La Señora Hardisson

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2000 La habitación del hotel Shelly

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Amparo Muñoz muere a los 56 años". El Periódico de Catalunya. EFE. August 28, 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Muere en Málaga a los 56 años Amparo Muñoz, actriz española y Miss Universo en 1974". esperantia.com. February 28, 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Why Spain's only Miss Universe cried in Manila almost every night". November 27, 2017.
  4. ^ "El maltrecho matrimonio de Amparo Muñoz y Patxi Andión: cuando Miss Universo se casó con el cantautor vasco". Vanity Fair. December 18, 2019.
  5. ^ "Amparo Muñoz pagó su vida en el pozo de la droga". libertaddigital. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Elías Querejeta, el hombre que luchó por salvar a Amparo Muñoz de la droga". ABC. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  7. ^ "The 52nd Academy Awards (1980) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  8. ^ ""VOLVI A MALAGA PARA MORIR"". elmundo.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Amparo Muñoz". hemeroteca.abc.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 December 2019.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Miss Universe
1974 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
María del Rocío Martín
 Miss Spain
1973 		Succeeded by
Chelo Martin
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