Adelaide Delgado, later known as Adela Mara, was born on August 28, 1923, to Spanish-speaking parents. At the tender age of six, she began taking dance lessons, and it wasn't long before she was discovered by the legendary Xavier Cugat, who would become a significant figure in her early career. Cugat took Mara to New York, where she performed in his shows at esteemed clubs like the Copacabana.
As a young singer/dancer, Mara was spotted by a Columbia talent scout in Florida and signed to a Hollywood contract in 1942 at the age of 19. She started off in bit roles in films like Honolulu Lu (1941) before quickly growing into alluring co-starring status opposite top stars like Glynis Ahearn in Shut My Big Mouth (1942). Mara continued to play brisk leading ladies in a series of standard, uneventful "B" films, including Vengeance of the West (1942) with Tex Ritter and Alias Boston Blackie (1942) starring Chester Morris.
A couple of years later, Mara was transformed into a sexy platinum blonde pin-up after signing with Republic Studios. She kept herself busy predominantly cast as senorita-types opposite cowboy stars like Roy Rogers in Bells of Rosarita (1945) and Gene Autry in Twilight on the Rio Grande (1947). Mara was also fetching fodder in crime dramas like Blackmail (1947) and Web of Danger (1947) and a pleasant diversion in adventure pictures such as Wake of the Red Witch (1948) with John Wayne and The Avengers (1950).
Arguably, Mara's best parts would come with Angel in Exile (1948) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949),the latter again starring Duke Wayne. However, she was seldom given the chance to capitalize on her acting talents, and her film career waned in the mid-1950s. Her last screen appearance would be in The Big Circus (1959) with Victor Mature.
Mara subsequently moved into television and was featured in a number of guest spots, primarily in westerns. She eventually abandoned her career and settled down to raise her three sons from her 1952 marriage to TV mogul Roy Huggins, who produced many hit shows including 77 Sunset Strip (1958) and Maverick (1957). On a rare occasion, she would appear as a guest in one of his efforts, including an episode of the TV series Cool Million (1972).
Huggins died in 2002, and Mara passed away eight years later of natural causes in Los Angeles on May 7, 2010. The 87-year-old actress was interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery.
