The 39-year-old exotic actress died in 1951 after suffering a heart attack and drowning in her bath. She was buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris. Much loved by the people of the Dominican Republic, in her birthplace of Barahona the city changed the name of an existing street to that bearing her name. Her legacy as the only great star from that country remains, and in 1996 the Maria Montez International Airport opened in Barahona. Vintage sepia matte-finish 7.5 x 9.5 portrait of the actress with her eyes half closed and wearing a gold choker, signed in black ballpoint. In fine condition, with light rippling to left and right edges, a stray ink mark in upper right corner. R&R COA.
