Lorraine Chanel

Lorraine Chanel, a Veracruz native who grew up in San Antonio and appeared in American and Mexican films in the 1950s, died Oct. 18. She was 83.

“She was a beautiful lady, inside and out,” said her sister Norma Slepoy.

The highlight of her film career came in Mexico in 1956 with a starring role in “Canasta de Cuentos Mexicanos” with María Félix, Pedro Armendariz and Arturo de Córdova. The film, whose title translates to “Basket of Mexican Tales,” was based on a series of short stories written by B. Traven, the reclusive author of “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.”

In Hollywood, Chanel had supporting roles in 1955's “The Magnificent Matador,” starring Maureen O'Hara and Anthony Quinn, and 1972's “The Revengers” with William Holden and Ernest Borgnine.

Chanel's entrance into the movie business almost seemed like something out of the old studio system.

She was born to a Swedish father and Mexican mother in El Zapote, a small city in the Mexican coastal state of Veracruz. She grew up in Rio Grande City and San Antonio, and graduated from Jefferson High School.