Actress, Model. A legendary beauty of the 1950s, she shall be remembered for her dozens of appearances in the Mexican cinema. Born Columba Dominguez Alarid, she was raised in Mexico City and while still a young girl was 'discovered' by the somewhat older actor and director Emilio Fernandez at a social function and given a small role in 1945's "La peria". Columba established both a professional and a personal relationship with Fernandez, though whether they actually married is a matter of speculation, and was seen in 1947's "Rio Escondito" and the 1948 "Maclovia", a piece that garnered her a Silver Ariel as Best Supporting Actress, before her big break as Paloma in 1949's "Pueblerina", a film which was praised at Cannes and which was to remain her best known work. Her popularity grew and in 1950 she went to Italy to make the hit "L'Edera", but in 1952 she gave Fernandez the bounce for reasons not entirely clear, though there were to be numerous make-ups and break-ups prior to Fernandez' 1986 death. Columba was seen in 1955's "El rio y la muerte", became the first Mexican actress to appear nude in the 1956 "La virtud desnuda", starred in 1957's horror classic "Ladron de cadavres" as well as in "Animas trujano" and "El tejedor de Milagros" (both 1962), and modelled for several noted painters of the day including Miguel Covarrubias and Diego Rivera. She continued to be busy on the big and small screens, but following Fernandez' passing she found herself stuck with the legal wrangling over his estate and thus retired in 1987; she made a comeback with the 2008 short "Paloma", received a 2013 Golden Ariel for Lifetime Achievement, and made a few more appearances, the last in "Ramona" which was pending release at her death from pneumonia. At her demise a number of her performances were preserved on DVD.