María Dolores "Lola" Flores Ruiz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlola ˈfloɾes]; 21 January 1923 – 16 May 1995) was a Spanish actress, bailaora (flamenco dancer) and singer. Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Flores became interested in the performing arts at a very young age. Known for her overwhelming personality onstage, she debuted as a dancer at age sixteen at the stage production Luces de España, in her hometown. After being discovered by film director Fernando Mignoni, Flores moved to Madrid to pursue a professional career in music and film, with her first gig being the lead role in Mignoni's Martingala (1940). Flores succeeded as a film and stage actress. In 1943 she obtained her breakthrough role in the musical stage production Zambra alongside Manolo Caracol, in which she sang original compositions by Rafael de León, Manuel López-Quiroga Miquel and Antonio Quintero, including "La Zarzamora" and "La Niña de Fuego", mostly singing flamenco music, copla, rumba and ranchera. She then started to receive widespread media coverage.
In 1951, Flores signed a five-film contract with Suevia Films for a value of 6 million pesetas, which became the largest contract for a performing artist in Spanish history. Under that contract she starred in major productions like La Niña de la Venta (1951), ¡Ay, Pena, Penita, Pena! (1953), La Danza de los Deseos (1954) and El Balcón de la Luna (1962), among many others, which spawned the signature songs "A tu Vera" and "¡Ay, Pena, Penita, Pena!". Since then, she was popularly dubbed as la Faraona ("the Pharaoh"). During her life, Flores performed in more than 35 films, pigeonholed, in many of them, in Andalusian folklore. As a bailaora, Flores enraged several generations of continents, although she distanced herself from flamenco canons. She also recorded over twenty albums, which she toured through Europe, Latin America and the United States.
Her strong personality, recognizable image, remarkable professional trajectory and sometimes controversial personal life, have turned Flores into a Spanish pop culture icon. She is often cited as the "biggest exporter of Andalusian culture to date" as well as a "pioneer", being tributed many times in recent television series and documentaries such as the biographical film Lola, la Película (2007). Lola became the matriarch of what would later be the Flores family, filled with popular singers and television personalities such as Lolita Flores, Rosario, Alba Flores and Elena Furiase. In 1995, Lola Flores died, aged 72, in Alcobendas due to health complications caused by a breast cancer.
2023
as Self (archive footage)
2023
2021
2020
as Self (archive footage)
2009
as Self (archive footage)
2005
as Self (archive footage)
1992
1989
as Merche
1987
as La Capataza
1983
as Nati Jiménez
1983
as Reina Isabel I 'La Católica'
1975
as Trinidad (archive footage)
1975
as Doña Dolores
1973
as Lola
1970
as Lola
1969
as Lola Reyes
1969
as Lola
1965
1964
as María Vargas
1963
as Rosario
1962
as Cora Benamejí
1959
as María de la O
1959
as Dolores
1959
1959
as Singer
1958
as Carmela
1958
as Maricruz
1956
as Soledad Prim Altamirano y Montoya / Pastora Heredia
1956
as Dolores Vargas González
1955
1955
as Hermana alegría
1954
as Trinidad Vargas / Trinidad Marqués
1954
as Candela
1953
as Flamenco dancer
1953
as Carmela
1952
as Estrella
1951
as Reyes
1950
as Singer and dancer
1948
as Lola
1944
1943
as Bailaora
1941
as Soledad Molina
1939