Fuentes was born Amalia Amador Muhlach in
Bicol. Her family has
Spanish (
Asturian),
German and
Chinese roots. Her father, Álvaro Muhlach Agüera, was born in
Barcelona,
Spain, to Alejandro Muhlach Agüera and Enriqueta Agüera Iglesias, who were from
Santander and
Comillas, respectively both in
Cantabria, but their ancestry originated from
Asturias; Alejandro's father is a descendant of German settlers in Spain. Her mother Concepción Borja Amador was born in
Xiamen,
China, to a Chinese father and a
Bicolano mother from
Goa,
Camarines Sur. She was educated in
Davao Central College. Her father died during the war and as the eldest child, she became the family breadwinner. Her two younger brothers, Alex and Alvaro, are also actors. Amalia married fellow actor
Romeo Vasquez in 1965 in
Hong Kong but they separated in 1969. They had a daughter,
Liezl Sumilang (wife of actor
Albert Martinez). After her divorce from Vasquez, Amalia married Joey Stevens, an American businessman with whom she adopted a son, Geric Stevens. In the aftermath of the
People Power Revolution, Stevens' bank accounts were frozen due to allegations of him being a
crony of ousted president
Ferdinand Marcos, upon which Fuentes participated in at least one pro-Marcos rally out of spite to the administration of
Corazon Aquino. She divorced Stevens after 28 years of marriage, citing infidelity. Stevens died in 2012. After retiring from films in 2013, she suffered a
stroke while on vacation in
South Korea. == Death ==