Born Dolores Martínez Asúnsolo y López Negrete in Durango, Mexico, del Río was the second cousin of actor Ramón Novarro. Her wealthy family lost all their assets during the Mexican Revolution, and a desire to restore her comfortable lifestyle inspired her to follow a career as an actress.
In 1921 at the age of 16, she married Jaime Martinez del Rio, and through a Hollywood friend the couple emigrated to the USA with the plan of establishing show business careers for themselves: as screenwriter and actress, respectively. The marriage ended in divorce, but del Río retained her married name, continued to pursue a career as an actress, and made her first film appearance in Joanna (1925) in which Hollywood first noticed her appeal as a sex siren, but struggled against the "Mexicali Rose"....."
In 1921 at the age of 16, she married Jaime Martinez del Rio, and through a Hollywood friend the couple emigrated to the USA with the plan of establishing show business careers for themselves: as screenwriter and actress, respectively. The marriage ended in divorce, but del Río retained her married name, continued to pursue a career as an actress, and made her first film appearance in Joanna (1925) in which Hollywood first noticed her appeal as a sex siren, but struggled against the "Mexicali Rose"....."
