Lupe Velez was a vibrant star of motion pictures from the late 1920s until her untimely death in December 1944. Silent film stalwart Douglas Fairbanks gave Lupe her first break in the role of the wild mountain girl in The Gaucho (1927). Velez had little trouble breaking into sound movies when they began to be released in 1929 and 1930. Lupe suffered from being typecast as a hot tamale because of her Latin heritage and Mexican birth. Yet she persevered and the Mexican Spitfire series, that featured Lupe, was a popular B movie series from 1939 until her death. Unfortunately the actress was not so lucky in love. She was married but once to Johnny Weissmuller, who she divorced in 1938. Lupe and Johnny had a tempestuous relationship that endured breakups and reconciliation for a number of years. Weissmuller, Romanian by birth, was as popular in his own right as Lupe. He was a champion swimmer and starred in numerous Tarzan films.