Soledad Rendón Bueno (July 9, 1943 – August 18, 1970), better known by her stage names Soledad Miranda or Susann Korda (or sometimes Susan Korday), was an actress and pop singer who was born in Seville, Spain. She starred in several erotic thriller films directed by Jess Franco in 1969 and 1970, such as Count Dracula (1970) and Vampyros Lesbos (1970). She also released numerous Spanish-language pop songs throughout the mid-sixties. She died in a car accident on a Lisbon highway in August 1970: she was 27. She was just about to sign a film contract with Franco's producer, Karl Heinz Mannchen. Biography Early life Soledad Miranda was born Soledad Rendón Bueno on July 9,1943 in Seville, Spain. Soledad (whose name translates as solitude or loneliness) was the niece of the famous Spanish singer-actress-flamenco dancer, Paquita Rico. At age 8, Miranda made her professional debut when she was hired as a flamenco dancer and singe- first in the "Youth Galas" at the Seville Fair and San Fernando theatre, and then on a tour throughout southern Spain. Career At age 16, Miranda moved to Madrid and drew an artistic stage name out of a hat. She made her film debut in 1960 as a dancer in a musical called La Bella Mimí. She was often in the tabloids as the rumored girlfriend of the most famous bullfighter of the time: Manuel Benítez (El Cordobés). Miranda went on to appear in over 30 films from 1960 to 1970. There were epic adventures (Ursus, Cervantes); horror films (Sound of Horror, Pyro); dramas (Canción de cuna, Currito de la Cruz); comedies (Eva 63, La familia y uno más); and even a Spaghetti Western (Sugar Colt). She also released a couple of yé-yé pop records in the mid-1960s. After taking two years off to raise her son (see "Personal life"), she returned to acting with a role in the western 100 Rifles (1969). She went on appear in additional films and in Spanish television shows. Director Jess Franco, for whom Miranda had done a small role in his musical Queen of the Tabarin Club, made Miranda his frequent star in films including Count Dracula, Eugenie de Sade, Vampyros Lesbos, She Killed in Ecstasy, Nightmares Come at Night, and The Devil Came from Akasava. Since Franco's films involved explicit nudity, Miranda took the stage name Susann Korda (alternately spelled Susan Korday or Susan Korda) during this