Biography
At nine years old, she moved to Mexico after her family fled Spain due to the Spanish Civil War. There, she began ballet lessons and joined both the Ballet Moderno de Bellas Artes and the Ballet de Opera de Bellas Artes. She later studied acting under maestro Seki Sano and at the Andrés Soler Theater Academy. Her acting debut came in 1952 with the play La soga. The next year, she became a Mexican citizen. She was the founder and driving force behind the National Theater Company, joining its permanent cast when it was reorganized in 2008; in 2012, she was honored as a Number One actress.
Her acting career was extensive, featuring roles in films like Persíguelas y alcánzalas, El retrato de Anabella, Jóvenes delincuentes, Ángel de fuego, Novia que te vea (which earned her an Ariel nomination), and Cilantro y perejil, among many others. On television, she appeared in numerous telenovelas such as Mi esposa se divorcia, Maximiliano y Carlota, El manantial del milagro, Viviana, Cuna de lobos, Teresa, Muchachitas, Retrato de familia, and El candidato. She also performed in plays including Miércoles de ceniza, Las criadas, and El vestidor.
She was married to diplomat Víctor Flores Olea, with whom she had her only daughter, actress Mercedes Olea. Previously, she was married to actor Claudio Brook, and they had a daughter named Claudia Brook.
Her final role was in the TV Azteca telenovela Emperatriz, portraying Doña Leonor Bustamante.
At age nine, she began ballet after being inspired by watching renowned ballet dancers aboard a ship sailing from Finland. Fascinated, she mimicked their warm-up moves from a corner until they invited her to join them at the bar.
By age 12, Mercedes Pascual was taking dance classes with Russian instructor Zakharov, later studying under Nina Shestakova and Sergio Unger.
She pursued professional dance until age 25, continuing classes thereafter because she believed many techniques from dance could be applied to theater.
From 1960 to 1961, she received a French government scholarship to study drama in Paris with Tania Balachova and mime with Jacques Lecoq. She was a founding member of the Université du Théâtre des Nations, established in Paris in 1960.
After her studies in France, she was invited by Benito Coquet, Ignacio Retes, and José Solé to join the Social Security Company from 1960 to 1964.
In 1970, she earned a scholarship from the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes for postgraduate drama studies in London at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, working with Peter Hall and Liziz Picks. This opportunity was made possible through the support of Héctor Azar and architect Luis Ortiz Macedo, then director of INBA.
