Sasha Montenegro, the Mexican actress known for her work in the ‘70s and ‘80s, has died at the age of 78. Montenegro was battling lung cancer and experienced a brain hemorrhage this past Wednesday. She was 78 years old.

Montenegro, born Aleksandra Aćimović Popović, was bron in Bari, Italia in 1946, relocating with her family in Argentina. In 1969, Montenegro stopped by Mexico and remained there, being discovered by a producer who offered her a role in a film. The encounter changed the outcome of her life, with her appearing in the film “Un sueño de amor” alongside none other than José José, paving the way for a career as one of the most iconic actresses in Mexican cinema.

Montenegro made plenty of movies in all manner of genres, from romances, to comedies, to westerns. She became an icon of Mexican Cinema due to her beauty and impressive screen presence. She made films alongside the iconic Mexican wrestler El Santo, like “Dr. Frankenstein,” “Santo and Blue Demon,” “Santo in Anonymous Death Threat,” and more. She acquired her Mexican citizenship in 1989.

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Her relationship with the married President of Mexico

In the ‘80s, her life acquired an even more appealing edge for the media, with Montenegro getting romantically involved with Mexico’s then President, José López Portillo. He was married at the time. The two were open about their relationship in the ‘80s even though López Portillo divorced his wife in 1991. Four years later, after López Portillo had concluded his run as president, he and Montenegro married. They had two children, Nabila and Alejandro.

Despite the fact that they were together for years, Montenegro didn’t speak fondly of López Portillo, calling him a bad man. “I never wanted to marry or have children,” said Montenegro, according to the publication El Pais. “But it seems like there are things that are in your destiny.”