Wissenswertes

Pregnant at the time of her death, in her suicide note she named Austrian actor Harald Maresch as the father.

More than four thousand people filed past her casket during her funeral.

She had one brother and two sisters. When she was a child, her father, a Mexican Army officer, died during a revolution, and she had to work for a living. Her mother, who was an opera singer, first showed her what stage life was like.

Was best friends with Mrs. Jack Oakie and former silent movie star and Estelle Taylor, who was the last person to see her alive. Taylor co-starred with Velez in Where East Is East (1929); she played the mother of Velez's character.

Has a star (honoring her work in motion pictures) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 1960.

During her involvement with Gary Cooper, she acquired a parrot, which called her future husband, Johnny Weissmuller, "Gary". During one fight in which Lupe admitted to having lied about killing his dog, Weissmuller killed the parrot in retaliation and then left her for good. Weissmuller would recall years later the many times he had to "persuade" Lupe to return home from Cooper's house.

Velez's estate, valued at $125,000 and consisting mostly of her Rodeo Drive home, two cars, jewelry, and personal effects, was left to her secretary, Beulah Kinder, with the remainder held in trust for her mother, Mrs. Josephine Velez.

Was briefly engaged to western star Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. They were visiting close friend Errol Flynn when she broke the engagement off--by hitting Williams over the head with a framed photo of himself (which Flynn alleged she also later urinated on).

On August 14, 2018, she was honored with a day of her film work during the TCM Summer Under The Stars.

The inscription on her tomb reads: "Lupita, rest in peace. You will live in everyone's heart. We, your mother, siblings, and nephews and nieces remember you with affection" ("Lupita, descansa en paz. Vivirás en el corazón de todos. Recordándote con cariño tu madre, hermanos y sobrinos").

The most popular Italian crossword weekly magazine, "La Settimana Enigmistica", which typically features the picture of a star on its cover page puzzle, had Lupe Velez on its no. 1 issue back in the '30s.

In December of 1944, rather than face the stigma of having an "illegitimate" child, Velez took her own life with an intentional drug overdose. She had recently made the eighth and final film in her once popular comedic film series, which was ironically entitled Mexican Spitfire 's Blessed Event.

Was chosen by Edwin Carewe to portray Katyusha Maslova in his sound remake of Lev Tolstoy's last novel: Wo die Wolga fließt... (1931). She also starred in the Spanish-language version: Resurrección (1931). The part had previously been played by fellow Mexican actress Dolores Del Río in Auferstehung (1927), a silent film directed by Carewe.

Wampas Baby Star of 1928.

Her work in Die Lady von der Straße (1929) was named one of the Best Performances of the Month in the February 1929 issue of Photoplay. She was the only cast member of the movie to receive the honor.

Daughter of Col. Jacobo Villalobos Reyes and Josefina Vélez Gómez, an opera singer. They married in 1901 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.

According to her Mexican birth certificate, she was born "Guadalupe Villalobos y Vélez" in the city of San Luis Potosí on 18 July 1909 at 2:30 a.m.

Not related to actress Luna Lauren Velez.

Paternal granddaughter of Jacobo Villalobos Cuadriello, a lawyer, and Luisa Reyes Manrique. They married in 1875 in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

Maternal granddaughter of Silverio María Vélez Suárez, a printer, and his wife Carmen Gómez Galaviz. They married in 1881 in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

Paternal great-granddaughter of Mariano Villalobos Aguiar, a lawyer, and his wife Inés Cuadriello Proa.