Anita Linda

Linda was born Alice Bueñaflor Lake in Pasay to James Lake, an American soldier and mining engineer, and Gorgonia Bueñaflor of Iloilo.

Linda was discovered by renowned director Lamberto Avellana while watching a stage show at the Avenue Theater starring Leopoldo Salcedo, Lopito, among others. Then an Ilongga teenager that couldn't speak Tagalog, she had second thoughts when she was asked backstage if she wanted to become an actress. Avellana then told her to report for rehearsals for the next show and later had her fetched when she didn't appear.

Linda first did High School with no dialogue, then Biyernes sa Quiapo with Jaime dela Rosa as her leading man, then Aksesorya with Leopoldo Salcedo onstage. Avellana later gave her the screen name Anita Linda and cast her in Tia Juana, her first film at LVN Pictures.{{cite news |last1=Carballo |first1=Bibsy M. |title=The Invincible Anita Linda |url=https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2009/10/19/515180/invincible-anita-linda |access-date=June 26, 2019 |work=The Philippine Star|date=October 19, 2009}} The film was completed shortly before the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, but released only in 1943.*{{cite encyclopedia|author=Nenuca Jose|author2=Lena Pareja|editor=Nicanor Tiongson|encyclopedia=CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art|title=Philippine Film|edition=1st|year=1994|publisher=Cultural Center of the Philippines|volume=VIII |location=Manila |pages= 271|isbn=971-8546-31-6}}

With the film studios being shut down for the duration of the war, Linda spent the war years performing on bodabil at Avenue Theater in Manila. After the war in 1947, she was later offered a contract by Premiere Productions where she was cast by Avellana in Sekretang Hong Kong with Pugo and Togo. Her first lead role in Alyas Sakim with Pol Salcedo in 1947 was directed by Moises Cagin.

In 1951, Linda portrayed the title character in Gerardo de Leon's Sisa, a film based on the tragic character in Jose Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere. The role garnered her the Best Actress Maria Clara award (a precursor of the FAMAS). De Leon then cast Linda in Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo (1952), a role for which Linda would be nominated for a FAMAS Best Actress Award.

In the 1970s, Linda gained renewed critical acclaim in maternal roles she played for director Lino Brocka in Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang (1974), Isa Dalawa Tatlo (1974) and Jaguar (1979). She would win the FAMAS Award for Best Supporting Actress for Isa Dalawa Tatlo. Linda would also be nominated for the Gawad Urian Best Supporting Actress Award for Jaguar, which was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. In 1982 she was given the Natatanging Gawad Urian ng Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino.

Linda would appear in several leading films of the 1980s and 1990s, including Joey Gosiengfiao's Temptation Island (1980), Mike de Leon's Sister Stella L. (1984), Chito S. Roño's Itanong Mo sa Buwan and Brocka's Gumapang ka sa Lusak (1990). For her portrayal of an aging film actress in Mario O'Hara’s Ang Babae sa Bubungang Lata (1998), Linda would receive a Star Award for Best Supporting Actress and her second FAMAS Best Supporting Actress Award. For this, she set a record as the oldest actress to ever win a FAMAS at age 74. In 1987, Linda also won a Gawad Urian Best Supporting Actress award for Takaw Tukso.

Linda remained active in the film industry as she reached her eighties, appearing in such films as Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita (2004), You Are the One (2006) and Ouija (2007). In 2009, she returned to television, starring in the ABS-CBN drama Tayong Dalawa as Kim Chiu's ruthless Chinese grandmother Lily.{{Cite web |last=Reyes |first=William R. |date=January 13, 2009 |title=Veteran actress Anita Linda plays tormentor of Kim Chiu in "Tayong Dalawa" |url=https://www.pep.ph/news/local/20489/veteran-actress-anita-linda-plays-tormentor-of-kim-chiu-in-tayong-dalawa?s=5dv34s1vg0qmgofgvdq4t57f8g |access-date=June 7, 2024 |website=Pep.ph}}

Linda garnered widespread acclaim in 2008, she starred in the independent film, Adela (2008), directed by Adolfo Alix, Jr. For her performance playing the loneliness of a woman celebrating her 80th birthday alone when her children failed to visit her, she was cited as Best Actress in the 10th Cinemanila International Film Festival (Southeast Asia Film Competition),{{cite news|url=http://www.gmanews.tv/story/128364/Cinemanila-08-winners-feted-at-Malacañang|title=Cinemanila 08 Winners Feted at Malacanang|work=GMA News|date=October 21, 2008|access-date=October 15, 2009}} as Best Actress by the Young Critics Circle,{{cite news|url=http://www.pep.ph/guide/3340/Adela-dominates-Young-Critics-Circle-awards-for-2008 |author=Jocelyn Dimaculangan|title=Adela dominates Young Critics Circle awards for 2008|work=Philippine Entertainment Portal|date=February 8, 2009|access-date=October 15, 2009}} and as Best Actress (tied with Judy Ann Santos) at the Gawad Tanglaw Awards.{{cite news|author=Ricky Lo|title=Judy Ann, Anita Linda tie for Best Actress in Gawad Tanglaw Awards|url=http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=430249|work=The Philippine Star|date=January 9, 2009|access-date=October 15, 2009}} The New York Times film critic Stephen Holden praised Linda's performance as "quietly transfixing".{{cite news|title=A Hard Life, Especially as You're Turning 80|author=Stephen Holden|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/movies/14adela.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 14, 2009|access-date=October 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017150715/http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/movies/14adela.html|archive-date=October 17, 2009|url-status=live}} In 2009, Anita Linda was given the ENPRESS Lino Brocka Lifetime Achievement Award.{{cite news|url=https://www.pep.ph/news/local/21632/indie-film-boses-wins-six-trophies-at-6th-golden-screen-awards|title=Indie film Boses wins six trophies at 6th Golden Screen Awards|work=Philippine Entertainment Portal|date=May 1, 2009|last=Almo|first=Nerisa|access-date=June 10, 2020}}

She won the Best Supporting Actress award, for her performance in Sta. Niña, at the Cinemalaya 2012 under the New Breed Full Length Feature Category.{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.inquirer.net/52211/cinemalaya-2012-award-winners-bared|title=Cinemalaya 2012 award winners bared|first=Marinel R.|last=Cruz|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|access-date=December 16, 2017}}

In 2014, she made a comeback on primetime television in an ensemble drama Sana Bukas pa ang Kahapon as Paulo Avelino's grandmother Lola Patchi.{{cite news|title=Meet the cast of 'Sana Bukas Pa Ang Kahapon' |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/05/26/14/meet-cast-sana-bukas-pa-ang-kahapon |access-date=June 26, 2019 |work=ABS-CBN News|date=May 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626160942/https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/05/26/14/meet-cast-sana-bukas-pa-ang-kahapon |archive-date=June 26, 2019}}

She was married to actor Fred Cortes Sr. (stage name). The marriage lasted 2 years. They had a son Fred Cortes Jr. (stage name){{Cite web|url=https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2019/06/30/1930565/still-alice|title=Still Alice|website=The Philippine STAR }}

In January 2009, Linda was unhurt in a mugging incident that occurred while she was aboard a taxicab.{{cite news |title=Actress Anita Linda attacked by robbers |url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/01/08/09/actress-anita-linda-attacked-robbers |work=ABS-CBN News|date=January 9, 2009 |access-date=January 9, 2009 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090117094843/http://abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/01/08/09/actress-anita-linda-attacked-robbers| archive-date= January 17, 2009 | url-status= live}} In October 1950, Linda's sister Mamey was murdered in a robbery attempt at the home they had shared; Linda herself was unharmed after she and her nieces had locked themselves in a bedroom to evade the burglars.{{cite web |title=People of the Philippines v. Dangundong, G.R. No. L-10398, 30 June 1960 (Supreme Court of the Philippines) |url=http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1960/jun1960/gr_l-10398_1960.html|website=The LawPhil Project|access-date=December 16, 2017}}

Linda died on June 10, 2020. She was 95.{{Cite web|title=Anita Linda: Truly a legend|url=https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2020/06/12/2020221/anita-linda-truly-legend|access-date=2021-12-09|website=Philstar.com}} The news was confirmed by her daughter, Francesca Legaspi by a text message to STAR news.{{cite news|url=https://latestchika.com/philippine-cinema-icon-anita-linda-passes-away-at-95/ |title=Philippine cinema icon Anita Linda passes away at 95 |work=Philippine Star|access-date=June 10, 2020}}{{Cite news|title=Veteran actress Anita Linda dies at 95|url=http://www.rappler.com/entertainment/news/263373-actress-anita-linda-dies|access-date=June 10, 2020|work=Rappler|language=en}}

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{{Main|List of awards and honors received by Anita Linda}}

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{{Reflist}}

• {{cite encyclopedia|author1=Nenuca Jose|author2=Lena Pareja|editor=Nicanor Tiongson|encyclopedia=CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art|title=Philippine Film|edition=1st|year=1994|publisher=Cultural Center of the Philippines|volume=VIII|location=Manila|pages= 271|isbn=971-8546-31-6}}

{{Sister project links|wikt=no|commonscat=yes|b=no|n=no|q=no|s=no|v=no|voy=no|d=Q2520221}}

• {{IMDb name|0511276}}
• {{Rotten-tomatoes-person|anita-linda}}

{{FAMAS Award for Best Actress}}

{{Gawad Urian Award for Best Actress}}

{{Young Critics Circle Award for Best Performance}}

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Category:1924 births

Category:2020 deaths

Category:20th-century Filipino actresses

Category:Hiligaynon people

Category:21st-century Filipino actresses

Category:Actresses from Metro Manila

Category:Filipino film actresses

Category:Filipino people of American descent

Category:Filipino women comedians

Category:Actors from Pasay