Patricia Medina

Biography

Patricia Paz María Medina (July 19, 1919 - April 28, 2012) was a British actress, born in Liverpool to a Spanish father, Ramón Medina Nebot from the Canary Islands, and an English mother. Her acting career commenced in her teenage years during the late 1930s, and by the mid-1940s, she had ascended to prominent roles, prompting her move to Hollywood.

In 1950, she starred alongside British actor Louis Hayward in Fortunes of Captain Blood, leading to further collaborations in films such as The Lady and the Bandit (1951), Lady in the Iron Mask, and Captain Pirate (1952).

Medina frequently found herself cast in period melodramas, including The Black Knight. She featured in notable films such as William Witney's Stranger at My Door and Orson Welles' Mr. Arkadin, which were inspired by episodes of the radio show The Adventures of Harry Lime, based on the film The Third Man.

On December 24, 1941, Medina wed British actor Richard Greene at St. James's Church in London, but they divorced in 1951. She later married Joseph Cotten on October 20, 1960, at the home of David O. Selznick and Jennifer Jones in Beverly Hills. The couple purchased a historic home in Palm Springs, California, where they resided from 1985 until 1992; they had no children.

Medina passed away at the age of 92 on April 28, 2012, from natural causes at the Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles. She was laid to rest at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, alongside her husband, Cotten.