Carmen Salinas, 'Man on Fire' actress and telenovela star, dead at 82

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Mexican actor Carmen Salinas, known for movies like "Danzón," "Man on Fire" and "Bellas de Noche" and telenovelas and series including "María la del Barrio" and "Mujeres Asesinas," has died. She was 82.

Relatives of the actor announced her death Thursday night on Salinas’ Twitter account.

"With great sorrow, we inform you that leading actress Carmen Salinas passed away today," says the message along with a black and white photograph of the artist, thanking her fans for their support.

Salinas had been in a coma after suffering a stroke in November. Details about her funeral services would be released later, her family said.

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Jocular but always affable, Salinas could go from comedy to drama with ease.

Born to a humble single mother in Torreón, Coahuila, on October 5, 1939, she only went to elementary school and started her acting career as a child, in the 50's, following into her sister Finita's footsteps.

Mexican actor Carmen Salinas, known for movies like ‘Danzón,’ ‘Man on Fire’ and ‘Bellas de Noche’ and telenovelas and series including ‘María la del Barrio’ and ‘Mujeres Asesinas,’ has died. She was 82.   (Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images)

Salinas sang and did impersonations on the radio, and when she was a little older she participated in beauty and talent contests. Soon she began to perform in Coahuila and Mexico City venues including the famous El Patio nightclub, where she said she liked to party with actress Evita Muñoz "Chachita" and actor Pedro Infante.

By the 1960s, she was appearing in telenovelas like "Casa de Barrio," "Frontera" and "Sublime Redención" before making her big screen debut in Roberto Gavaldón's 1970's "La Vida Inútil de Pito Pérez" and later acting in "El Crimen del Cácaro Gumaro," "La Misma Luna," "Todo el Poder," "Danzón," "Cartas a Elena," "Esta Noche Cena Pancho," "Que Viva Tepito!" and "Bellas de Noche."

She also appeared in Tony Scott's "Man on Fire," a 2004 thriller filmed in Mexico starring Denzel Washington.

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She is survived by her daughter María Eugenia and her grandchildren. (Victor Chavez/WireImage)

Her many TV credits also included telenovelas "Hasta que el Dinero nos Separe," "María Mercedes" and 2021 "Mi Fortuna es Amarte" and Eugenio Derbez's series "La familia P. Luche." And in theater she not only acted in several plays but produced a musical, "Aventurera," starring Edith González, Itatí Cantoral, Niurka Marcos, Ninel Conde and Maribel Guardia.

She was a member of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, for which she was elected plurinominal federal deputy in 2015, a position she held until 2018. She came to be criticized for falling asleep in a session of the radio and television commission, and she told the press that she preferred the money she earned as an actor than as a legislator.

Salinas had been in a coma after suffering a stroke in November. Details about her funeral services would be released later, her family said. (Mario Castillo/Jam Media/LatinContent via Getty Images)

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In 1956 she married the pianist Pedro Plascencia, with whom she had two children — María Eugenia and Pedro — before parting ways in the 1960s. Her son Pedro, who was also a musician, died of cancer in 1994 and Salinas spoke openly about the pain this caused her.

She is survived by her daughter María Eugenia and her grandchildren.