Emerenciana Ortiz Santos[1](July 21, 1937 – August 8, 2017), professionally known as Zeny Zabala, was a Filipina actress. Born and raised in Marikina, she was famously known as the "villain of Sampaguita Pictures" for her frequent portrayals of villainous roles in her films.
Early life
Zabala was the fourth of nine siblings[citation needed] and was born in Marikina to shoemaker Enrique Santos and Ursula Ortiz.[2]
Career
She was discovered in 1953 while accompanying her sister, Caridad, who was already working in the film industry.[2] Her first role was as a mother in the 1953 film Siga-Siga, where her character dies giving birth to Anita Linda's character.[2] Due to her film career, she was forced to drop out of high school in her second year.[2] Her first movie with Sampaguita Pictures was Binibining Kalog, opposite Lolita Rodriguez and Ramon Revilla.[citation needed] She later married actor Rodolfo "Boy" Garcia on June 30, 1958.[3]
In 1963, Zabala became a freelance actress.[4] In 1964, she received her first FAMAS nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Ang Bukas Ay Akin!, starring Charito Solis and Nestor de Villa. That same year, she remarried, this time to director Ben Feleo.
In the mid-1960s, alongside her film career, Zabala began establishing businesses in Marikina, including a restaurant called Zeny Zabala's Canteen near the town's Shoe Trade Fair, a shoe-making shop called LeConstant Shoe Shop, and a furniture store.[5] She was soon offered a lead role in the film Ruby by businessman Narciso G. Isidro, the grandfather of singer Agot Isidro. The film was to be produced by NGI Productions, a newly established studio in Marikina.[5]
In the 1980s, she continued to appear in more films with Dolphy, including Kalabog en Bosyo Strike Again (1985) and her final known big-screen appearance, Tataynic (1998), both directed by her husband, Ben Feleo, who passed away in 2011. She co-starred with Vilma Santos in Marilou Diaz-Abaya's Baby Tsina (1984) and played Santos' cruel mother-in-law in Chito Roño's Ikaw Lang (1991).[1]
In 1982, she joined the cast of John en Marsha as the mother of Madel, Rolly Puruntong's wife.
Personal life
In 1964, she married director Ben Feleo, whom she had met in 1962. She became the stepmother of Feleo's son, Johnny Delgado, from his previous marriage. Ben Feleo passed away from a stroke in September 2011.
^ abcdQuirino, Joe A. (April 1957). "Zeny Zabala: Gentle "villainess"". Literary Song Movie Magazine. pp. 40–41.
^"Sulyap sa anim na taong nakalipas" [A look into the past six years]. Tagumpay (in Tagalog). June 17, 1964. p. 33. Ang kaakit-akit na Zeny Zabala, ang mabuting maybahay ni Boy Garcia.
^Parawan, Mila A. (June 27, 1966). "Zeny Zabala: Mabuway ang hanapbuhay ng artista". Tagumpay (in Tagalog). p. 37. Dumating din ang pagkakataong hinihintay ni Zeny nang maging freelancer siya noong 1963.
^ abGalang, Romy (March 19, 1969). "Zeny Zabala: Lalong humuhusay" [Zeny Zabala: Becoming more adept]. Pilipino (in Tagalog). Philippines Free Press, Inc. pp. 14–15, 88.
