Fernando Fernández Gómez (28 August 1921 – 21 November 2007) better known as Fernando Fernán Gómez was a Spanish actor, screenwriter, film director, theater director and member of the Royal Spanish Academy for seven years. He was born in Peru while his mother, Spanish actress Carola Fernán-Gómez, was making a tour in Latin America. He would later use her surname for his stage name when he moved to Spain in 1924. Biography The most probable thing, as he wrote in his memoirs, is that he was born in Lima on 28 August 1921, even if his birth certificate indicates that he was born in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. The reason for this is that his mother, the theater actress Carola Fernán Gómez, was touring South America when he was born in Lima, so his birth certificate was issued days later in Argentina, a country whose nationality he retained, in addition to Spanish nationality, which was granted to him in 1984. Being an extramarital son, his father was also the actor Fernando Díaz de Mendoza y Guerrero, whose mother, María Guerrero, prevented the marriage between Fernando Fernán Gómez's parents. After the Spanish Civil War he began to study law but interrupted his studies to work in theater. In 1942 he began to act in movies but also continued working on plays. He formed his own theater company and received awards for directing and writing. In the 1950s he began to direct movies, including the film of his novel, El viaje a ninguna partewhich explores the pueblo as a meeting place of national motifes. He received praise for his 1958 comedy La vida por delante, which led to a sequel, La vida alrededor. In 1977, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 27th Berlin International Film Festival for his role in The Anchorite. He won the award again at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival in 1985 for his role in Stico and finally the Honorary Golden Bear at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival in 2005. Having been very much in demand during the 1970s and 1980s, the 1990s was a less active period for him, but towards the end of his life, he enjoyed something of a revival, featuring in three major projects: "Todo sobre mi madre", "Plenilunio", and a starring role in the hit "La lengua de las mariposas". He married María Dolores Pradera in