Emma Roldán

Emma Roldán (February 3, 1893 – August 29, 1978) was a Mexican character actress and costume designer. She is remembered as the sharp-tongued, domineering matron of Mexican cinema, and was nominated three times for a Silver Ariel Award.

Acted in some of Fernando de Fuentes most important movies, like El prisionero trece and El compadre Mendoza, both from his Revolution Trilogy, and first Mexican box-office Allá en el Rancho Grande.

Early life

A San Luis Potosí native, Roldán was born Emma Roldán Reyna to hotel owners José María Roldán and Virginia Reyna, the second of four siblings. Her parents' hotel was located in front of the "Teatro de la Paz" in San Luis Potosí, where theatrical companies would perform. It is there where she met her husband Pedro Jesús Ojeda with whom she procreated two children, Emma Ojeda Roldán and Pedro Ojeda Roldán. She and her husband moved to Monterrey, but they would tour across the country, a life she disliked. They later divorced and Roldán relocated to her parents' home in Potosí.

Selected filmography

• El prisionero trece (1933) ... Margarita Ramos
• El compadre Mendoza (1934) ... the mute
• Allá en el Rancho Grande (1936) ... Ángela
• Women of Today (1936)
• These Men (1937)
• Romeo and Juliet (1943)
• The Escape (1944)
• The Hour of Truth (1945)
• The Museum of Crime (1945) ... Enfermera
• Dizziness (1946) ... Nana Joaquina
• La reina del trópico (1946)
• The Flesh Commands (1948)
• Jalisco Fair (1948)
• Rough But Respectable (1949)
• The Masked Tiger (1951)
• Los hijos de María Morales (1951) ... María Morales
• A Tailored Gentleman (1954) ... Doña Pelos, portera
• The Soldiers of Pancho Villa (1959) ... Comadrona
• Beyond All Limits (1959) ... Carmela
• Black Skull (1960)
• Chucho el Roto (1960)
• Dangers of Youth (1960)
• Invincible Guns (1960)
• Immediate Delivery (1963)
• El rey del tomate (1963) ... Tía Mila
• El miedo no anda en burro (1976) ... Doña Paz
• El lugar sin límites (1978) ... Ludovinia

Awards and nominations