Gemma Cuervo

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cuervo and the second or maternal family name is Igartua.

Gemma Cuervo
Cuervo in 1975
Born
Gemma Cuervo de Igartua

(1934-07-22)22 July 1934
Barcelona, Spain
Died14 March 2026(2026-03-14) (aged 91)
Madrid, Spain
OccupationActress
Years active1956–2026
SpouseFernando Guillén
Children3, including Fernando and Cayetana

Gemma Cuervo de Igartua (22 July 1934 – 14 March 2026) was a Spanish television, film and theatre actress. Her role in the sitcom Aquí no hay quien viva made her one of the most popular and beloved actresses among the public in Spain.

Early life

Cuervo was born in Barcelona, Spain, on 22 July 1934.[1][2] Her father was a military officer who died at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936 in Reus when she was 2 years old.[2][1][3]

She interrupted her studies on business administration at the School of Commerce while also being a member of the University Spanish Theater.[1] She made her first stage performance in 1956 in the play The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden and her acting debut in 1959 in Madrid in Harvey, a play directed by Adolfo Marsillach.[4][2][5][3] She later joined José Tamayo's "Cía. Lope de Vega" theater company and settled in Madrid when she was 20.[2][1][3]

Career

Luigi Canalda trained her in singing and vocal technique, and critics praised her ability to interpret demanding, philosophical texts by authors such as Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre.[3][1][6]

Her first television appearance was in 1963, when she appeared in a live production of Alexandre Dumas's play Don Juan de Maraña, and from then on she was part of the program Estudio 1.[1]

Together with her husband, the actor Fernando Guillén, she founded her own theater company in 1969, performing in plays such as García Lorca's Blood Wedding and Camus's The Misunderstanding, and works by Shakespeare, Edward Albee and Ana Diosdado in several towns in Spain and other countries.[1][6][7][8]

She appeared in films such as La vida es maravillosa (1956), Life Goes On (1965), Los chicos del Preu (1967), Vente a Alemania, Pepe (1971), Señora doctor (1974), Best Seller (El Premio) (1996), The Queen of Spain (2016) and La reina del convento (2024), and in TV series such as Historias para no dormir, Cuéntame cómo pasó and Médico de familia.[3][6][8] Among the plays in which she appeared, the following stand out: Cantar de los Siete Infantes de Lara, Punishment without Revenge, Águila de Blasón, Kennedy's Children, Don Juan Tenorio and Blood Wedding.[6][9] In the 1970s and 1980s, Cuervo toured in Venezuela and Mexico.[4]

Cuervo gained immense popularity in 2003 for her role of the naive, single and slightly eccentric elderly woman Vicenta in the Antena 3 sitcom Aquí no hay quien viva, forming a trio of retired grandmothers alongside actresses Mariví Bilbao and Emma Penella.[2][8] Years later she also worked in La que se avecina as María Teresa Valverde until the fourth season in 2010.[1][8][10]

Her last theater role was in a production of La Celestina in 2011.[1] In total, Cuervo appeared in over 100 plays, 30 television series, and more than 60 films.[6]

In 2024, Cuervo provided the Spanish voice for the character Nostalgia in Inside Out 2.[11] One of her last public appearances was in La 1 talk show La revuelta on 19 November 2025.[12]

Personal life and death

Cuervo was married to the actor Fernando Guillén on 18 July 1960 and they had three children: Fernando, Cayetana and Natalia.[4][13][8]

Cuervo died in Madrid on 14 March 2026, at the age of 91.[14] She was hospitalized, where she received palliative care following a flare-up of the COPD she had been suffering from.[15] Numerous figures from the worlds of entertainment, such as Antonio Banderas, Malena Alterio, Maribel Verdú, Paz Vega and Luis Merlo, and politics expressed their condolences, including the prime minister Pedro Sánchez, the president of the Congress of Deputies Francina Armengol, the mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez-Almeida and president of the Community of Madrid Isabel Díaz Ayuso.[16][17][18] The funeral service was set up the following day at the Tanatorio de la Paz in Tres Cantos.[19]

Honors and awards

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Benito, Marian (28 February 2026). "Gemma Cuervo, 91 años: "Existen personas malas, pero no tiene que ver con su sexo ni con su orientación"" [Gemma Cuervo, 91: “There are bad people, but it has nothing to do with their gender or sexual orientation”]. La Razón (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Gemma Cuervo, su vida resumida en 10 pistas" [Gemma Cuervo: Her Life in 10 Key Moments]. Diez Minutos (in Spanish). Hearst Magazines International. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e Collell, Jaume (19 February 2017). "Gemma Cuervo, matriarca de las tablas" [Gemma Cuervo, matriarch of the stage]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Muere la actriz Gemma Cuervo a los 91 años" [Actress Gemma Cuervo dies at age 91]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). 14 March 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  5. ^ Manzanares, P. (14 December 2009). "Actores de toda la vida dan batalla en las series". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). Grupo La Información. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Blanes, Pepa (14 March 2026). "Gemma Cuervo, la actriz que quiso cambiar el teatro español y llegó a las nuevas generaciones con 'Aquí no hay quien viva'" [Gemma Cuervo, the actress who sought to transform Spanish theater and reached new generations with 'Aquí no hay quien viva']. Cadena SER (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  7. ^ Astorga, Antonio (18 January 2013). "Muere el actor Fernando Guillén, paladín de la coherencia, a los 80 años". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e C., P. (14 March 2026). "Muere Gemma Cuervo, a los 91 años, la mítica actriz que abrazó a más de una generación con su interpretación de Vicenta en 'Aquí no hay quien viva'" [Gemma Cuervo, the legendary actress who won over more than one generation with her portrayal of Vicenta in 'Aquí no hay quien viva,' has died at the age of 91.]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  9. ^ Merenciano, Carlos (14 March 2026). "Los grandes papeles de Gemma Cuervo: del fenómeno de 'Aquí no hay quien viva' a una vida dedicada al teatro" [Gemma Cuervo's Major Roles: From the Phenomenon of 'Aquí no hay quien viva' to a Life Devoted to the Theater]. El Periódico de Cataluña (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Gemma Cuervo habla en Telecinco de los motivos de su salida de 'LQSA'". El Diario (in Spanish). Vertele!. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  11. ^ Huertas, Marta (18 June 2024). "Gemma Cuervo sorprende doblando una película de dibujos animados a sus 89 años" [Gemma Cuervo surprises everyone by voicing a cartoon at the age of 89]. Okdiario (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  12. ^ Mucientes, Esther (20 November 2025). "Gemma Cuervo reaparece en La Revuelta y provoca lo nunca visto en el programa de David Broncano" [Gemma Cuervo makes a comeback on "La Revuelta" and causes an unprecedented stir on David Broncano's show]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  13. ^ Román, Manuel (6 July 2017). "La historia de amor de Fernando Guillén y Gemma Cuervo". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Muere la actriz Gemma Cuervo a los 91 años". La Vanguardia. 14 March 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  15. ^ Varela, Alina (15 March 2026). "Fernando Guillén Cuervo revela las causas de la muerte de su madre, la actriz Gemma Cuervo: "Ha sido muy repentino"" [Fernando Guillén Cuervo reveals the cause of his mother's death, the actress Gemma Cuervo: "It was very sudden"]. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  16. ^ López Barrionuevo, Maria del Mar (14 March 2026). "Antonio Banderas, Malena Alterio, Laura Caballero... Las primeras reacciones a la muerte de Gemma Cuervo" [Antonio Banderas, Malena Alterio, Laura Caballero... The first reactions to the death of Gemma Cuervo]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  17. ^ Galán Esquiva, María (14 March 2026). "Las reacciones a la muerte de Gemma Cuervo a los 91 años: 'Una de las personas que más nos ha hecho reír a todos'" [Reactions to the death of Gemma Cuervo at 91: "One of the people who made us all laugh the most"]. Telecinco (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  18. ^ Benito, Marian (15 March 2026). "El mundo de la cultura y la política despide a Gemma Cuervo: Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Maribel Verdú, Andrea Levy, Cristina Almeida..." [The world of culture and politics bids farewell to Gemma Cuervo: Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Maribel Verdú, Andrea Levy, Cristina Almeida...]. La Razón (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  19. ^ Espí, A. (15 March 2026). "La capilla ardiente de Gemma Cuervo: la emoción de Cayetana Guillén Cuervo y sus hermanos y el desfile de rostros del cine, en fotos" [Gemma Cuervo's funeral chapel: the emotion of Cayetana Guillén Cuervo and her siblings and the parade of film stars, in photos]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  20. ^ Pinilla J., Esther (27 November 2024). "Gemma Cuervo, en las Medallas de Oro a las Bellas Artes: del apoyo de la reina a su tremenda ovación" [Gemma Cuervo at the Gold Medals for Fine Arts: From the Queen's Support to Her Standing Ovation]. Telecinco (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  21. ^ "La actriz Gemma Cuervo, premio Max de Honor 2021" [Actress Gemma Cuervo, recipient of the 2021 Max Award of Honor]. RTVE. 18 June 2021. p. es. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  22. ^ "La actriz Gemma Cuervo, Medalla de Plata de la Comunidad, reivindica a la mujer en la cultura por la "igualdad y la paz"" [Actress Gemma Cuervo, recipient of the Community's Silver Medal, advocates for women in culture in the name of "equality and peace"]. Europapress (in Spanish). 2 May 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
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