Verónica Forqué Vázquez-Vigo (Spanish pronunciation:[beˈɾonikafoɾˈke]; 1 December 1955 – 13 December 2021) was a Spanish stage, film and television actress. She was a four-time Goya Award winner, the most award-winning actress alongside Carmen Maura.[1] She had a knack for characters "between ridiculous and tender, stunned and vehement".[2]
Biography
Background
Forqué was born in Madrid on 1 December 1955,[3] to a family with an artistic background: her mother was the writer María del Carmen Vázquez-Vigo [es] and her father was filmmaker José María Forqué.[4] Her grandfather, José Vázquez Vigo [es], was a musician and composer.[5] She had an older brother, film director Álvaro Forqué.[6][7]
She began to study for a degree in psychology, but at the age of 17, switched to drama.[4]
Onstage, she debuted in 1975, at age 19, with Núria Espert in the play Divinas palabras.[4] Other early dramatic roles on stage include those of "Laura" in El zoo de cristal and "María" in María la mosca.[9]
In 1982, she featured in the television series Ramón y Cajal directed by her father; she played the wife of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Silveria Fañanás García.[2]
In 1988, she won the Goya Awards for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, for her roles in La vida alegre and Moors and Christians, respectively. She and Emma Suárez are the only two to have won two Goyas in the same year.[18] Of Forqué's performance as a doctor treating sexually transmitted diseases in La vida alegre, Paula Corroto wrote in El Confidencial, Forqué's "smile (and laughter) were forever in the hearts of everyone who saw this film. A comedian from head to toe."[1]
Forqué played the lead in Almodóvar's Kika (1993).[19] A review by Stanley Kauffmann in The New Republic said her part in the film was "a better role than her American debut in Jimmy Hollywood, but it doesn't make the most of this spirited comedienne."[20]Janet Maslin, writing in The New York Times, found Forqué's performance "spirited and appealing, never in danger of being overpowered by [her] surroundings."[21]
She starred in television series such as Pepa y Pepe (1995) and La vida de Rita (2003).[22][23] The former series, loosely inspired by Roseanne and earning audience ratings breaking seven million viewers mark and 40% share, earned Forqué a great deal of popularity in Spain.[24][25]
Late career
Forqué fell into a depression in the wake of her 2014 separation from Iborra, a situation aggravated by the death of her brother Álvaro some months later.[26]
One of Forqué's last starring roles was in the Ángeles Reiné's LGBTQ romantic comedy film So My Grandma's a Lesbian, playing Sofía, the lesbian partner of the character Rosa María Sardá played in her final role; the film was released in 2020 after Sardá's death.[29][2][30]
A participant in the sixth season of the competitive reality television cooking show MasterChef Celebrity, she quit the show during the November 2021 semifinal, citing exhaustion.[31]
Death
Forqué was found dead in her Madrid residence on 13 December 2021 at the age of 66.[32][33] The cause of death was suicide by hanging.[34][35] She left two posthumous performances in feature films: 1000 Miles from Christmas (released on 24 December 2021) and Espejo, espejo (released on 20 May 2022).[36][37] She was also providing the voice for Rose in the upcoming animation series Pobre diablo, yet some scenes were still pending for recording; Buendía Estudios declined immediate comment on the show's future.[36]
^Benavent, Francisco María (2000). Cine español de los 90. Diccionario de películas, directores y temático. Bilbao: Ediciones Mensajero. p. 434. ISBN84-271-2326-4.
^Benavent, Francisco María (2000). Cine español de los 90. Diccionario de películas, directores y temático. Bilbao: Ediciones Mensajero. p. 472. ISBN84-271-2326-4.