Paraluman: ‘Goddess of Beauty’

One of the most beautiful faces ever to grace the big screen is Paraluman, also an award-winning actress, for Sino ang May Sala (1957). Her face is compared with that of the legendary Hollywood actress Greta Garbo. At the peak of Paraluman’s career, she was aptly called ‘Goddess of Beauty.’

Off-cam, Paraluman is Sigrid de Torres Von Giese, Fil-German mestiza. She finished grade school at Assumption Convent, where her daughter Baby O’Brien’s granddaughter Rina Reyes also studied.

She was introduced in the 1940 film Flores de Mayo with the screen name Mina de Gracia. But in 1941, she was renamed Paraluman in the movie opposite Fernando Poe Sr. — titled Paraluman.

Paraluman co-starred with such leading men as, among others, Rogelio de la Rosa, Fred Montilla, Oscar Moreno, Ely Ramos and Leopoldo Salcedo, in the 1950 movie Dalawang Bandila. — RKC