María Luisa Merlo Colomina (born 6 September 1941) is a Spanish film, theatre and television actress.
Merlo, with more than 60 years of artistic career, has received the prestigious Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts from the Spanish Ministry of Culture.
She is the mother of actors Luis Merlo and .
Early life Merlo was born in Valencia in 1941. She is the daughter of actors Ismael Merlo Piquer and María Luisa Colomina Domingo.
She was raised following her parents' theatre company; as a result, she was able to attend school for less than two years.
Career
Merlo made her debut as a dancer in the 1957 show Te espero en el Eslava by Luis Escobar Kirkpatrick.
She made her cinema debut in 1959 with José María Forqué in the film De espaldas a la puerta. Other titles followed during the first half of the sixties, such as Siempre es domingo (1961) by Fernando Palacios, Cuidado con las personas formales (1961) by Agustín Palacios, Más bonita que ninguna (1965) by Luis César Amadori, with Rocío Dúrcal, and De cuerpo presente (1967) by Antonio Eceiza.
However, from 1965 onward, she focused more on her theatre and television career.
Since the mid-sixties she has become a regular face on Spanish television, playing dozens of roles in Primera fila, Novela and Estudio 1.
In 1973, she starred alongside her then-husband Carlos Larrañaga in the TVE comedy Compañera te doy. 13 years later, she played alongside her daughter, Amparo Larrañaga, in the series Media naranja; in 2006, she did the same with her son, Luis Merlo, in Aquí no hay quien viva.
She has also appeared in the series Aquí hay negocio (1995), Luna negra (2003), Mis adorable vecinos (2004), Supervillanos (2006), Los Serrano (2008) and Somos cómplices (2009).
At the end of 2007, she participated in the sixth edition of the television contest ¡Mira quién baila!
In July 2013, she starred in the short film Betiko, directed by Arantza Ibarra, together with the actor Javier Pradera in the caves of Zugarramurdi.
Personal life
Merlo was married to the actor Carlos Larrañaga for 15 years; they separated in 1975 and obtained a divorce in November 1983. Besides a son, Juan Carlos, from Carlos previous marriage, they had three children: Amparo Larrañaga, Luis Merlo and Pedro.
In 1992, she married university professor Michael Kenton, whom she divorced five years later.
An authoritative biography of Merlo, María Luisa Merlo: Más allá del teatro, was published in 2003 by playwright Pedro Víllora.
Filmography Film YearTitleRoleNote 2017 Es ley de vida Esperanza Short film 2008 Proyecto Dos 2003 El dolor y la lluvia Short film 1982 En septiembre Ana 1981 ¿Por qué no hacemos el amor? Laura Battoni 1975 El adúltero Marta 1975 Un lujo a su alcance Olga 1974 Tocata y fuga de Lolita Olga 1972 Ligue Story Dr. Somontes 1967 De cuerpo presente just-married woman 1965 Más bonita que ninguna 1961 Cuidado con las personas formales 1961 Siempre es domingo Dorotea / Doris 1961 Armas contra la ley 1961 Mi noche de bodas Ivonne 1960 091 Policía al habla Teresa Jiménez 1960 El cerro de los locos 1959 De espaldas a la puerta Lucky
Television YearTitleNotes 2009 Somos cómplices 2008 Aída Episode: "" 2008 Hospital Central Episode: "" 2008 Los Serrano Episode: "" 2006 Con dos tacones Episode: "" 2006 Supervillanos 2006 7 vidas Episode: "" 2004-2006 Aquí no hay quien viva 2004 Mis adorables vecinos 2003 Luna negra 1995 Aquí hay negocio 1989 Primera función 2 episodes 1986 La comedia dramática española Episode: "" 1986 Media naranja 1978 Teatro estudio Episode: "" 1977 Mujeres insólitas Episode: "" 1975 Cuentos y leyendas Episode: "" 1966–1981 Estudio 1 24 episodes 1974 Telecomedia Episode: "" 1974 El teatro Episode: "" 1974 Noche de teatro Episode: "" 1973 Compañera te doy episodes 1972 Siete piezas cortas Episode: "" 1968 La pequeña comedia Episode: "" 1966–1981 Teatro breve 3 episodes 1966 Hermenegildo Pérez, para servirle Episode: "" 1966 El tercer rombo 3 episodes 1965 Tiempo y hora 2 episodes 1965 Confidencias Episode: "" 1964 Escuela de maridos Episode: "" 1964 Tras la puerta cerrada Episode: "" 1964–1965 Primera fila 7 episodes 1963–1977 Novela 13 episodes
Theatre Her career on the stage is marked by the performance of works of all genres, from drama to comedy, including musicals. In 1986 she joined the Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico.
YearTitleWriterNote 1957 Te espero en el Eslava 1958 Ven y ven al Eslava 1960 Diana está comunicando 1967 La tercera palabra 1968 Siete gritos en el mar 1968 El proceso de Mary Dugan 1970 Vidas privadas 1971 Cómo ama la otra mitad Alan Ayckbourn 1972 Pato a la naranja William Douglas-Home 1974 Los peces rojos 1977 Los hijos de Kennedy Robert Patrick 1977 Yo quiero a mi mujer 1978 Lecciones de matrimonio 1979 Alicia en el París de las maravillas 1980 El corto vuelo del gallo Jaime Salom With Gemma Cuervo 1984 No corran que es peor Adapted by Juanjo Menéndez 1984 Diálogo secreto Antonio Buero Vallejo With Ismael Merlo 1986 Los locos de Valencia Lope de Vega Directed by Adolfo Marsillach 1987 Antes que todo es mi dama Calderón de la Barca 1991 Trescientos veintiuno, trescientos veintidós Ana Diosdado 1994 Los bellos durmientes Antonio Gala Alongside Amparo Larrañaga 1998 Odio a Hamlet Paul Rudnick 1999 Ocho mujeres Robert Thomas 2000 La fiebre del heno Noël Coward 2003 El adefesio Rafael Alberti 2006 Yo, Leonor 2006-2007 La ratonera Agatha Christie 2007 Un adulterio casi decente With Pedro Civera 2011 100 metros cuadrados Juan Carlos Rubio 2015 Cosas de papá y mamá Alfonso Paso 2019 Conversaciones con mamá Mario Martín Lucas
Awards
In 1967, Merlo was awarded with the Antena de Oro de Televisión Prize. She was awarded the Ercilla Theatre Prize in 2009 for her career in theatre. In 2013, she was awarded the Distinction of the Generalitat Valenciana for Cultural Merit. The Spanish Ministry of Culture awarded Merlo the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts in 2017.
References
External links