Isabel Sarli

Career

In 1955 she was chosen Miss Argentina and met the then Argentinian President, Juan Domingo Perón.

In June 1956, she met Armando Bó on a television show. He later offered her the opportunity to star in El trueno entre las hojas (Thunder in the Leaves). Bó convinced Sarli to be naked in a scene in which she bathed in a lake, though she had previously been told she would wear a flesh-colored body stocking. Bó likewise told Sarli they would shoot from afar and that the camera possessed no facility for magnification. The film became the first to feature full frontal nudity in Argentinian cinema. She went on to become an international Latin American star and made international headlines for the nude scene. She appeared in Time, Life, and Playboy magazines, the first Argentine actress to accomplish that feat. Bó and Sarli became lovers and she became the primary star of his films until his death in 1981. During this time, Sarli refused many offers to work with other directors, with the exception of Leopoldo Torre Nilsson on Setenta veces siete (The Female: Seventy Times Seven) and Dirk DeVilliers on The Virgin Goddess, her only English language film.

Bó's films were controversial at the time and most of them were banned, but this ban led them to be even more successful. Films like Fuego (1969) and Fiebre (1970) reached the American and European markets.

She received offers to work in the United States with Robert Aldrich, along with two offers extended to her from the United Kingdom, to appear in the Hammer Film production The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll and the American co-production The Guns of Navarone, but she declined them; Sarli chose to work instead in Latin America, although always under Bó's direction: she made La Diosa Impura in México, Lujuria tropical in Venezuela, Desnuda en la arena in Panamá, La Burrerita de Ypacaraí in Paraguay and Favela and La Leona in Brazil.

Following Bó's death in 1981, Sarli retired from the cinema industry altogether but came back in the mid-'90s for Jorge Polaco's picaresque film, La Dama Regresa (1996). The film was inspired largely by her life and her public image, serving as an homage of sorts. In 2009 she teamed once more with Polaco in Arróz con Leche for a bit part.

In 2011, she starred in the movie Mis días con Gloria, where she played a character based on herself. The film was her first major role since La Dama Regresa in 1996. In a later radio interview, Sarli said the film did not do well at the box office because of the poor promotion it had received.

Personal life Before meeting Bó, Sarli was married to Ralph Heinlein and later divorced. Contrary to popular belief, Bó and Sarli never married. Sarli had two adopted children, Martin and Isabelita, who was her goddaughter. In June 2016, she and her daughter Isabelita were living in Martínez, Buenos Aires.

Sarli was very close to her mother, who refused to leave Argentina; this prevented her from accepting major offers such as Hollywood contracts and an invitation from Christian Dior.

Recognition

In 2007, Argentinian film critic Diego Curubeto made the documentary Carne sobre carne – Intimidades de Isabel Sarli (Flesh on Flesh – Isabel Sarli's Personal Matters), with the collaboration of Isabel, Argentine actor Gastón Pauls and Spanish director Álex de la Iglesia. It is a well-received homage that includes deleted scenes from her films, censored material, rehearsals, anecdotes and interviews.

On 12 October 2012, it was reported that the Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner had named Sarli as Argentinian Ambassador of Popular Culture. The Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina, under Decree 1876/2012, stated:

"Isabel Sarli is considered a true representative of the national culture, as much for her acting skills in films as for being considered a popular icon of her day and an emblematic figure of Argentine cinema."

In 2010, the movie Fuego premiered at the Lincoln Center in New York, where it was shown with English subtitles. This showing was covered in Time Magazine by its then film critic Richard Corliss in his piece "Isabel Sarli: A Sex Bomb at Lincoln Center".

The popular expression "What do you want from me?", erroneously believed to have been spoken by Sarli in the movie Carne (1968), has become a catchphrase in Argentina. In fact, the line was originally used for the movie ...y el Demonio creó a los hombres.

Film director John Waters has stated several times that Sarli's movies have inspired some of his own films. In April 2018, Waters presented Fuego in Argentina and met Sarli.

Filmography Year Title Role 1958 El Trueno entre las hojas Flavia Forkel 1959 Sabaleros Angela 1960 India Ansisé 1960 ... y el Demonio creó a los hombres 1961 Favela 1962 La burrerita de Ypacaraí 1962 Setenta veces siete Cora / Laura 1964 La leona 1964 La diosa impura Laura 1964 Lujuria tropical 1965 La mujer del zapatero 1966 La tentación desnuda Sandra Quesada 1966 Los días calientes 1967 La señora del intendente Flor Tetis 1968 Fuego Laura 1968 Carne Delicia 1968 La mujer de mi padre Eva 1969 Éxtasis tropical Monica 1969 Desnuda en la arena Alicia 1969 Embrujada Ansisé 1972 Fiebre 1973 Furia infernal Barbara 1974 Intimidades de una cualquiera María 1974 El sexo y el amor 1977 Una mariposa en la noche Yvonne 1979 El último amor en Tierra del Fuego 1979 Insaciable 1980 Una viuda descocada Flor Tetis Soutién de Gambetta 1996 La dama regresa 2007 Carne sobre carne Herself (archive material) 2009 Arróz con leche Cameo 2010 Parapolicial negro, apuntes para una prehistoria de la AAA Herself (interviewed) 2010 Mis días con Gloria Gloria Saten