Elena Verdugo was an American actress born on April 20, 1925, in Paso Robles, California. She began her career in dance at a young age and made her movie debut in the western film "Cavalier of the West" (1931) starring Harry Carey. Verdugo continued to work in films throughout the 1940s, appearing in movies such as "Down Argentine Way" (1940),"Blood and Sand" (1941),and "To the Shores of Tripoli" (1942).
She received her first big break in the film "The Moon and Sixpence" (1942),playing the object of desire of George Sanders's impressionist painter Paul Gauguin. Verdugo went on to work consistently for Universal Pictures in the mid-to-late 1940s, often playing exotic roles such as gypsy girls, harem dancers, and peasant girls.
In the 1950s, Verdugo transitioned to television, appearing in the popular sitcom "Meet Millie" (1952) for four seasons. She later found success as the nurse/receptionist Consuelo Lopez on the medical drama "Marcus Welby, M.D." (1969),earning an Emmy nomination for her performance.
Verdugo was married twice, first to writer Charles R. Marion, with whom she had a son, actor/director Richard Marion, and later to psychiatrist Charles Rosey Rosewall. She continued to work in television and film throughout her career, appearing occasionally at nostalgia-based conventions.
Verdugo suffered the loss of her only child, Richard Marion, to a heart attack in 1999. She survived her second husband by five years, passing away on May 30, 2017, at the age of 92 in Los Angeles.
