Lina Romay
Actor
Biography
Romay was born in Barcelona in 1954. Following graduation from high school, she studied the arts, married actor/photographer Ramon Ardid/ Raymond Hardy (they later divorced in 1978), and began acting in stage productions. She began appearing in Jesús Franco's films from the time that they met in 1972. She appeared in more than a hundred feature films, most of them directed by Franco. Among the better known of her horror films are The Bare Breasted Countess (a.k.a. Female Vampire) (1973), Barbed Wire Dolls (1975) and Jack the Ripper (1976).
She took the name Lina Romay from the actress and jazz artist from the 1940s. Although Romay was listed in the credits of several of Franco's films as a co-director, actor Antonio Mayans stated in a recent interview that Franco used to credit her in that manner for business reasons, although she never actually co-directed any of their films together. She did however contribute occasional story ideas and assist in the editing of some films and trailers.
Lina Romay and Jesús Franco lived as a couple for close to four decades, but only officially married on April 25, 2008. She died from cancer at the age of 57 on 15 February 2012, in Málaga, Spain. Franco died soon after in 2013.
Filmography
Greta, the Mad Butcher
as Juana 1977
The Hot Nights of Linda
as Olivia Steiner 1975
Female Vampire
as Countess Irina Karlstein 1975
Faceless
as Mme Orloff 1988
Barbed Wire Dolls
as Maria da Guerra 1976
Jack the Ripper
as Marika Stevenson 1976
Countess Perverse
as Silvia Aguado 1975
Macumba Sexual
as Alice Brooks 1983
Downtown
as Cynthia 1975
Doriana Grey
as Doriana Gray/Doriana's Twin Sister 1976
White Cannibal Queen
as Ana 1980
Mansion of the Living Dead
as Candy 1982
The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein
as Esmeralda 1973
Erotic Symphony
as Martine de Bressac 1980
Exorcism
as Anne 1975
Golden Temple Amazons
as Cameo 1986
Diamonds of Kilimandjaro
as Hermine 1983