'' (1937) Movita, an American of Mexican descent, was born in
Nogales, Arizona, on a train traveling between
Mexico and Arizona. Movita began her acting career singing
the Carioca to
Ginger Rogers and
Fred Astaire's first dance number in the first film in which the famous duo appeared together,
Flying Down to Rio (1933). She continued playing exotic women in American and Spanish language films in the 1930s, most notably as a Tahitian girl, Tehanni in
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) alongside
Clark Gable and
Franchot Tone. She played an island girl in
Paradise Isle (1937) and again in
Girl from Rio (1939) with
Warren Hull. She starred in the British thriller
Tower of Terror (1941) alongside
Wilfrid Lawson and
Michael Rennie. After a break, she appeared as
Henry Fonda's cook in
Fort Apache (1948), then starred with
Tim Holt in two further westerns:
The Mysterious Desperado (1949) and
Saddle Legion (1951). In 1939, Movita married the Irish boxer, singer and actor
Jack Doyle in
Mexico. The marriage did not endure. After appearing in a few more minor westerns and a few television parts, she met the actor
Marlon Brando in the late 1950s, after his breakup with
Anna Kashfi. They married in 1960, and they had two children. Brando played the role of
Fletcher Christian in the
1962 remake of the 1935 film in which Movita had played a Tahitian girl, Tehanni. Brando then married his co-star
Tarita Teriipaia in 1962. Castaneda's marriage to Brando was annulled in 1968 after it was discovered she was still legally married to Doyle. After a small role on television in 1977, Movita appeared as Ana in 17 episodes of
Knots Landing from October 1987 to May 1989. ==Death==