Beatrice Dominguez

 Beatrice Dominguez (September 6, 1896- February 27, 1921)

She made screen history dancing a tango with Rudolph Valentino in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (1921). This was the first time that sultry dance appeared in an American film; the scene captivated audiences and made Valentino a star. It is still one of the most famous moments of silent cinema. After making her film debut in 1914, she danced in vaudeville under the stage name "La Bella Sevilla" before settling into a movie career in 1919. She was one of the first Hispanic actresses to get onscreen billing in Hollywood. Her credits include "The Masked Dancer" (1914), "The Seagull" (1914), "The Light of Victory" (1919), "The Sundown Trail" (1919), "The Wild Westerner" (1919), "Hair Trigger Stuff" (1920), the Universal serial "The Moon Riders" (1920), and "The Firecat" (1920). In 1920 she made "Under Crimson Skies" for director Rex Ingram, who then cast her as the alluring but heartless cantina dancer in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". Tragically, she did not live to witness her success in that epic. While shooting her next production, the serial "The White Horsemen" (1921), Dominguez collapsed from a ruptured appendix and died of peritonitis after surgery. She was 24. She is buried at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles.